When it comes to fairy tales, the stepmother is often portrayed as an evil one. But is it really the case for the world’s most famous royal family? And what are Harry and William’s true feelings about their father marrying his mistress?
Source: Maternity Week
When Charles and Diana went their separate ways, William and Harry did not just have to deal with being in a broken family but also being in the public eye. And what was worse, they are expected not to react in public to all the drama because they are royalty.
A bad reputation
Now that William and Harry are parents themselves, they are now more open to sharing their feelings about the divorce that shook Buckingham Palace. In some of their interviews, some surprising takeaways made their feelings about their stepmother, Camilla, quite clear.
Source: Maternity Week
Camilla was often painted as the “other woman” and “wicked stepmother” who did not deserve a crown or a place in the royal family. But despite that, William and Harry had been civil and polite towards her under the scrutinizing eyes of the public.
She was an angel but she was not the one
Looking back on their childhood, William and Harry agree that Diana was the ideal mother. Even people who do not know her personally consider her an angel. Any man would be lucky to have her. But it seemed that Charles did not feel the same.
Source: Maternity Week
According to royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith, Charles dreaded his marriage to Diana. In fact, he dreaded it so much that he wept on the night before the ceremony. It looked like he had known all along that this union was doomed to fail.
He dated her sister first
For instance, did you know that Charles dated Diana’s sister first? He had a short fling with Lady Sarah Spencer. But Sarah clarified that there were no hard feelings. In fact, she was the one who introduced Charles to Diana.
Source: Maternity Week
Things just simply did not work out between Sarah and Charles. In an interview in 1978, Sarah famously said that she would not marry Charles “whether he was the dustman or the King of England.” Marriage was simply not on her agenda at that time.
He almost married someone else
Before his relationship with Diana started, Charles was set to marry another woman and no, this woman was not Camilla. Charles almost married the daughter of Lord Mountbatten, Lady Amanda Knatchbull (now known as Amanda Ellingworth).
Source: Maternity Week
It was reported that Charles proposed to Lady Amanda back in 1979 but Lady Amanda had turned him down. This was probably for the best because they were cousins after all. Prince Charles started to court Diana in 1980.
His one great love
But from the very start, everyone believed that somebody else already owned Charles’ heart. This other woman is Camilla Parker Bowles, the current stepmother of William and Harry. Charles and Camilla have been dating since the early 1970s.
Source: Maternity Week
Charles and Camilla met at a polo match in 1970 and started dating. They broke up when Charles went off to sea to serve in the Royal Navy. Camilla ended up marrying Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, just a few months after Charles left.
Strong feelings for an old flame
Hearing about Camilla’s marriage broke Charles’ heart. He locked himself in his cabin for two days and refused to eat anything. Despite the heartbreak, Charles and Camilla remained to be friends. He was linked to several girls before marrying Diana in 1981.
Source: Maternity Week
When Diana met Camilla, it was rumored that she disliked her instantly. This was because she noticed that Charles and Camilla still had some strong chemistry together. She even referred to Camilla as “Charles’ lady.”
The affair that rocked Buckingham
In her controversial interview with Martin Bashir in 1995, Diana said her famous line, “There were three of us in the marriage.” And in the end, this turned out to be true as Charles and Camilla had an affair even before he was engaged to Diana.
Source: Cosmopolitan
In 1992, a leaked intimate telephone conversation that happened in 1989 between Charles and Camilla rocked the royal family. The incident was known as “Camilla-gate” and was reported internationally and was extremely embarrassing for the royal family.
The divorce
And as we all know, Diana and Charles decided to end their marriage that year. The distrust, doubts, and affair were too much for Diana. Plus their substantial age gap made it more difficult to communicate with each other.
Source: Maternity Week
Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and became officially divorced 4 years later. That was the end of their 15-year marriage. In 1997, Diana died in a tragic car crash. That year, Charles’ main priority was to care for his grieving sons.
Lying low
Charles’ popularity took a hit after his failed marriage and his affair was exposed. After Diana’s death, he and Camilla decided to lie low to help improve Charles’ damaged reputation. He concentrated on raising his sons.
Source: Maternity Week
After a couple of years, Camilla and Charles reconnected and this time, she has fully reentered William’s and Harry’s lives as Charles’ partner. Following Charles’ separation from Diana, Camilla also went through her own divorce.
Rekindling their relationship
It looked like there was no stopping the romantic relationship between the two. Despite all the damage their affair had caused, Charles still pursued Camilla and would even bring her as his plus-one for some events that he attended for his royal duties.
Source: The Royal Observer
Camilla’s showing up with Charles enraged the general public. A lot of people blame her for ruining Diana’s marriage and the public hated Charles for parading his mistress around. Imagine how Harry and William felt about it.
Giving her a chance
But William and Harry had not said a word about it. As usual, they kept their lips sealed while this was all going on. But now that Camilla was a constant presence, something had to be done.
Source: Maternity Week
They wanted to put their father at ease. Harry and William decided to give Camilla a chance and promised their father that they would spare time to meet with her and try to get to know her a little better.
Meeting William
William was the first to meet Camilla. They had a meeting behind closed doors and to this date not a soul knows what transpired during this first meeting between them. That conversation had become a matter of interest because of how Camilla behaved after.
Source: Daily Express
Rumor has it that Camilla re-emerged from the room looking very tense. When Charles checked up on her, she was heard telling Charles that she needed a drink. It looked like William was not entirely welcoming.
Meeting Harry
It took a while for Camilla to settle down from her meeting with William. Once she calmed down, Camilla met with Harry. Their conversation seems to be less tense and observers say that it went off without a hitch.
Source: Maternity Week
Now this made the public think that Harry welcomed Camilla with open arms. But when he published his memoir, Spare, a few years later, Harry turned out to have some thoughts about her. Although he did also mention that she was not a wicked stepmother.
Meeting Camilla’s children
Now that she has met the sons of Charles, Camilla felt obligated to also follow the favor. Camilla also took her children, Tom and Laura, to meet William and Harry. They all gathered at Camilla’s residence for tea. Everyone was said to get along.
Source: Maternity Week
Although Camilla’s children and William and Harry may never be best friends, the fact that they started off on the right foot was important. In good faith, William and Harry extended an invitation to Camilla for Charles’ 50th birthday party.
A welcome presence
The invitation to family events made Camilla’s presence in royal affairs more legitimate. Now that she knew that William and Harry were okay with her relationship with Prince Charles, she became more confident in her new relationship with Charles.
Source: Maternity Week
William and Harry used to steer clear of Camilla. But by the early 200s, Camilla’s relationship with them had improved. They were now often pictured chatting or having a laugh during events. Seeing the improvements in their relationship encouraged Charles.
From mistress to wife
Charles ended up proposing to Camilla years after the scandal of their affair. The couple ended up getting married at the Windsor Guildhall in 2005. Both of their families showed up to give their support and warm wishes.
Source: Maternity Week
But there was some drama before Charles popped the question to Camilla. In fact, in his memoir Spare, Harry revealed that although they were happy Charles had found happiness with Camilla, he and William did not want him to marry her.
Marrying his true love
William and Harry believed that the marriage would just open up old wounds and have the tabloids attacking the royal family again. But Charles was determined to have his happy ending and make Camilla a legitimate part of the royal family.
Source: Maternity Week
In the end, William and Harry shook his hand and wished him well. According to Harry in his book Spare, “We recognized that he was finally going to be with the woman he loved, the woman he always loved.”
She was worthy to become Queen Consort
The marriage of Charles and Camilla was not just a fulfillment of Charles’ great love. It was a sign to the public that both families have moved on forward from the very public issues that each of their families had faced over the past years.
Source: Maternity Week
After the wedding, William and Harry’s relationship with Camilla have improved over the years. Even the Queen found her worthy by allowing her to carry the title of Queen Consort when Charles becomes King.
Not an evil stepmother indeed
In fact, William and Harry were starting to see what had charmed Charles and were beginning to understand why Camilla was his great love. Camilla was not an air-headed noble. She was very passionate and caring. She loved horses and gardening.
Source: Maternity Week
Most important of all was the fact that she did make Charles truly happy. William and Harry found Charles a different man around her. There was no denying how much this relationship had meant to him. And seeing this strengthened their ties with Camilla.