Buckingham Palace holds on to its mystery when it comes to the real-life dynamics between its occupants. One of the prime examples of it is none other than the much-gossiped equations between princes William and Harry and their stepmother, Camilla Parker Bowles. Of course, there can be no doubt that the soured and broken marriage of Diana and Charles had to be one of the indisputable causes. The young princes back then had held on to their grudges, with the tabloids painting Camilla as the home breaker.
Going down the timeline of events, Camilla’s very entry into the royal family dynamics caused quite a bit of stir. Her publicized affair with King Charles while he was still married to his first wife, Princess Diana, created the most sordid controversy ever.
When it came to William and Harry, both of them had quite a bit of a bumpy ride, particularly after their parents got divorced. The fact that Camilla was gradually trying to replace Diana naturally did not foster a smooth equation between the latter’s sons and their stepmother.
For starters, Camilla and Charles had a history of a strong relationship. They first crossed paths at a party in 1972 and hit it off right away. Their rendezvous ended the same year when Charles joined the Royal Navy, which put a chink in their connection. A year later, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles. Shockingly, when Charles returned, he continued to stay in touch with his love interest, overlooking his marriage to Princess Diana.
William Parker Bowles saying he loves pubs he grew up in Pubs. As if we didn’t know. Absent father was touring country houses with Camilla, while William Parker Bowles and Harry were getting sloshed in country pubs around Highgrove. https://t.co/tP1WniBhBV pic.twitter.com/uKUW8kadZ6
— Nina (@ShakeLS) January 22, 2026
One may remember the people’s princess’s iconic revelation after her divorce from the BBC. She had said “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded”, making direct reference to Charles and Camilla’s extra-marital affair. After Diana’s demise, the former couple got a chance to take their relationship public, which was when William first got to meet Camilla.
The year was 1998, and William got to meet with his father’s long-time mistress. It is believed that he had absolutely no desire to see her. The 15-year-old prince was already carrying around the burden of his parents’ broken marriage as well as his mother’s demise. The awkward meeting took place on June 12 at St. James Palace and lasted 30 minutes. It was totally bumpy, and at the end of it, Camilla reportedly got exhausted and said, “I really need a gin and tonic.”
For Harry, on the other hand, he never really talked about his first meeting. Although he, too, was a victim of getting caught in a toxic love triangle, the Duke of Sussex made a very interesting remark about his stepmother in his 2018 biography.
He had expressed, “She’s not a wicked stepmother. Look at the position she’s coming into. Don’t feel sorry for William and me, feel sorry for her.” He had further added, “To be honest, she’s always been very close to me, and William … William and I love her to bits”- a statement which contradicted all the previous speculations.
Surprisingly, Camilla did maintain a warm relationship with Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, right up to the time when the couple decided to relinquish all of their royal duties. An insider said, “She was very sensitive to Meghan and provided her with support, advising her to ride out the storm and that it would all pass — but ultimately Meghan didn’t listen.”
lol, Poor Camilla Long is losing sleep over Prince William’s silence and indifference to Harry’s circus, so she decided to write an article over it…😏
“Why is William not saying what he is thinking or doing anything about his brother?” “Why is he continuously avoiding him?”… pic.twitter.com/iR4E7MhDnb
— Canellecitadelle (@Canellelabelle) January 19, 2026
A few more years later, after Queen Elizabeth’s death, Camilla ended up bagging the royal title of Queen Consort. Surprisingly, this happens to be a sore subject among Diana’s sons, despite the fact that it was a decree made by their late grandmother. As per a report, the two brothers did not really send in any congratulations on the occasion, which clearly reflects their disagreement on it.
While William has respectfully maintained his distance from his stepmother, he’s often been publicly supportive of her. A palace source in February 2022 had revealed, “He is not particularly close to his stepmother, but they get on perfectly well and are quite the blended family now. He also respects his grandmother and her judgment more than anything in the world.”
Prince Harry’s equation with Camilla, however, has unexpectedly worsened far beyond. While the Sussex family has stepped out of the royal family drama, he’s still rigid about the concept of Queen Camilla. A royal biographer reflected on the same and had mentioned “Harry … can’t stand Camilla, he doesn’t want Camilla to be queen, he’s very angry that it’s happening. He has not made his peace with it, and he probably never will.”
