The Royal Family’s liaisons have always been a point of controversy. The women in the marriage always suffered due to the institutional pressures that one has to suffer. Princess Diana, due to her individualistic outlook, threatened the institutional status of the family. But, unfortunately, Diana, in her last years, had to suffer through King Charles III’s infidelity. He declared himself an unfaithful husband as he was cheating on Diana with Queen Camilla, whom the late Queen Elizabeth II despised.
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s marriage was tumultuous even before it took place. The two were in a relationship in 1970, but they married different people at that time. Charles famously married Princess Diana, and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles. But, despite their respective marriages, they could not keep themselves apart from one another, and they continued to be in a relationship. Queen Elizabeth II was upfront about hating Camilla because she ruined Charles’ chance to reconcile with Diana.
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Queen Elizabeth II Was Assured That Queen Camilla Will Never Become A Queen
It is not surprising to know that King Charles III put his foot down to make Queen Camilla his wife. He tried to convince the royal family to accept her as his wife after their marriage in 2005. Christopher Andersen, a royal biographer, says that Charles’ primary task is to “sell Britain on Camilla.” The world loved Princess Diana. So, when she died, Camilla was heavily criticized and blamed for ruining a marriage.
But, Queen Elizabeth II helped to resuscitate Camilla’s image. However, there was an agreement between King Charles III and the late Queen Elizabeth II. Andersen, in an interview with Newsweek, explained the deal. He said, “The queen always detested Camilla. The Queen Mother particularly detested Camilla because she was throwing a wrench in the works. Because of Camilla, the monarchy was kind of brought to the brink of destruction.”
Andersen continued, “It took eight years for Charles to finally convince everybody to accept Camilla as his wife, to convince the queen to allow him to marry Camilla. He had to jump through all those hoops.” But, Charles struck a deal, again reluctantly, that “he would never make Camilla queen, that she would be princess consort.”
However, Queen Elizabeth II was concerned about whether Camilla would be accepted by the masses. Andersen added, “He[King Charles III] lobbied Queen Elizabeth for 17 years to make that happen, and she resisted it, not because she disliked Camilla—because she kind of warmed up to her a bit—but because she knew the vast majority of people in the country would find it distasteful and it would be a problem for the monarchy.”
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Prince Andrew’s Sexual Assault Case Changed Everything
The now-disgraced member of the royal family, Prince Andrew, had a turbulent past few years. The #MeToo movement exposed him when a US citizen, Virginia Guiffre, filed a sexual assault case against him. Andrew’s close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein did not help. Later, Andrew and the plaintiff settled the case for an undisclosed amount.
But, Queen Elizabeth II had to aid him to get him out of the case. King Charles III wanted to speak out about the case. However, Elizabeth II did not want him to speak out, so she finally agreed to endorse Camilla.
So, during her 70th anniversary of ascending the royal throne, Queen Elizabeth II said, “When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me. And it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
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