Prince Charles' Letters Seeking Advice from Pedophile Jimmy Savile Revealed in New Documentary

Tim Ockenden/PA Images via Getty Prince Charles and Jimmy Savile

The close relationship between Prince Charles and disgraced BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, who was publicly exposed as a pedophile following his 2011 death, is being examined due to a new Netflix documentary that uncovered letters between the pair.

Savile appeared to take on a role as an unofficial advisor to Prince Charles, according to Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. According to The Times, letters obtained by the filmmakers written between 1986 to 2006 showed Queen Elizabeth's son sought advice from the radio and TV personality — ranging from asking him to meet with his sister-in-law Sarah Ferguson ("I feel she could do with some of your straightforward common sense!") to Savile crafting a media relations handbook that Charles said was shown to the Queen and Prince Philip.

There is no indication that Charles knew anything about Savile's crimes, which didn't become public knowledge until decades later. Following his death, 450 people came forward to allege abuse by Savile. An inquiry revealed that he sexually abused mainly children and young people.

Clarence House, which represents Prince Charles, declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

The first of the letters, dated Jan. 14, 1987, was a handwritten note from Prince Charles.

"Perhaps I am wrong, but you are the bloke who knows what's going on," the heir wrote. "What I really need is a list of suggestions from you. I so want to get to parts of the country that others don't get to reach."

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Hilaria McCarthy/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Jimmy Savile

Prince Charles inquired in 1989 for suggestions on "useful morale-boosting visits etc to worthwhile groups, places, projects and so on that don't get enough attention."

Charles also reached out seeking guidance on how to deal with specific incidents, such as when Prince Andrew made insensitive comments regarding the 1988 Lockerbie disaster, a terrorist plane bombing that killed everyone aboard, and 11 people on the ground. During a visit to the Scottish town just days after the tragedy, Prince Andrew said, "I suppose statistically something like this has got to happen at some stage . . . Of course, it only affects the community in a very small way."

"It reignited a discussion about how the royal family should respond to disasters," the documentary's director Rowan Deacon said, according to The Times. "Jimmy Savile wrote this dossier, quite an in-depth document of advice, on how the Queen should behave and how members of the royal family should not be in competition with each other."

Savile's guidelines included hiring "a special person with considerable experience in such matters" and having "an 'incident room' with several independent phone lines, teletext, etc."

Prince Charles said in a 1989 letter to Savile, "I attach a copy of my memo on disasters which incorporates your points and which I showed to my father. He showed it to HM [Her Majesty]."

Gareth Copley/PA Images via Getty Jimmy Savile and Prince Charles

Prince Charles also asked Savile to meet with Fergie, as Prince Andrew's now ex-wife is known, in a Dec. 1989 note.

"I wonder if you would ever be prepared to meet my sister-in-law — the Duchess of York?" he said. "Can't help feeling that it would be extremely useful to her if you could. I feel she could do with some of your straightforward common sense!"

Savile's victims came forward several times over the years, but police inquiries never came to fruition until after his death. According to The Times, an anonymous letter was sent to police in 1998 stating that Savile "thinks he's untouchable because of the people he mixes with." That included a relationship with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who successfully lobbied for him to be knighted in 1990.

"The consequence of that was that it gave him a seal of approval in the eyes of the British public," Deacon said. "It consolidated our trust in him. We're not suggesting for one moment that Thatcher or Prince Charles knew what he was really up to. Nonetheless, that seal of approval meant that the weight of his respect and trust was a planet compared to the tiny voices of these women that popped up every now and again."