Prince William's Uncomfortable Relationship With Queen Camilla Stems From This Tricky Issue
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Even though the British press focuses on the family feud between Prince Harry and the palace, the real issue (aside from Prince Andrew) seems to be Queen Camilla’s relationship with Prince William. It might be the one thing the bickering brothers agree on — Camilla is an awkward part of the royal family history.
The Prince of Wales has probably had more dealings with her this year due to King Charles III and Kate Middleton’s cancer battles — William and Camilla have a lot on their plate both professionally and personally. Still, there’s a lot of resentment brewing from her part in the love triangle that played out for years between her, Charles, and Princess Diana — it impacted William and Harry’s childhood.
“There’s a lot to overcome,” a palace insider told Us Weekly. “William and Harry had always distrusted Camilla and felt resentment toward her because of their devotion to their mother. They never felt comfortable opening up to her in any real way.” Besides the general side-eye they carry toward Camilla, there’s also her cozy relationship with the Royal Rota, which has been an issue for years. Harry noted her unfair advantage to “rehabilitate her image” in his memoir, Spare, writing, “I even wanted Camilla to be happy, maybe she would be less dangerous if she was happy.”
Anderson Cooper asked the Duke of Sussex to clarify what he meant in their 2023 60 Minutes interview. Harry responded, “Because of the need for her to rehabilitate her image. That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press and there was open willingness on both sides to trade of information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being Queen Consort, there was going to be people or bodies left in the street because of that.”
The Us Weekly source agreed with Prince Harry’s beliefs, adding, “William and Harry’s distrust grew when they found out Camilla was leaking stories to the press to make herself look better.” It’s an open secret that the queen is best buds with Piers Morgan and Jeremy Clarkson, who have been hostile to Meghan Markle. It makes you wonder who is feeding the anti-Duchess of Sussex stories to the tabloids.
While Harry and William’s feud won’t be mended anytime soon, royal fans can at least unite over the brothers’ uneasiness around Queen Camilla’s alleged modus operandi with the U.K. media.
Before you go, click to see all the biggest royal scandals in the past 50 years.