Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Harry Have ‘Lifelong Resentment’ as Harry Continues to Lash Out at Her and Charles, Expert Says
Camilla Parker Bowles wasn’t always so welcome within the royal family. She certainly went through her difficulties making peace with King Charles’ kids and his parents after being dubbed the “other woman” in Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana.
Nearly 20 years after Charles and Camilla wed, Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, still has ‘lifelong resentment’ toward his step-mother, who he continues to discuss– even in his recent court hearing. The public might have thought Harry had come to terms with his father’s second marriage, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Prince Harry and Prince William never wanted Charles to marry Camilla
Harry and William were devastated at Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997. And on top of that, the two boys knew their father was in love with his mistress, Camilla, whom he planned to marry down the road. And, unsurprisingly, Harry revealed in his 2023 memoir Spare that both he and William “begged” his father not to go through with marrying Camilla; the boys knew the drama she’d caused between their parents.
Harry wrote in his Spare memoir that he and William said they would forgive Camilla on the condition that Charles never married her. “‘You do not need to remarry,’ we begged him,” Harry wrote. “A wedding would … make the whole country, the whole world, compare our mother and Camilla, something that nobody wanted.” Of course, Charles did not listen, and he wed Camilla in 2005.
Prince Harry and Camilla Parker Bowles have ‘lifelong resentment’
Though Harry and William dealt with Camilla for years and always played nice in public, it turns out there was lasting resentment between Harry and his step-mother. Royal expert Alexander Larman discussed Harry and Camilla’s “lifelong resentment” — especially on Harry’s part.
“You can see that [Camilla] has not reached out to Harry the way he needed to be reached out to, which has led to a lifelong resentment which of course manifested itself in Spare,” Larman told The Royal Beat, via Express. “Camilla is very savvy and has a team around her that knows what they are doing. So yes, there is a very carefully curated image presented to the world.”
Larman says Camilla has worked hard to create a specific image for herself, as has Charles. It wasn’t until Harry’s memoir was released that the public learned Harry and William never wanted the couple to wed.
Prince Harry accused King Charles and Camilla of leaking stories to the press
Harry has had no issue going in on his father and step-mother, as well as many other members of the royal family. When Harry did an interview With Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes back in January 2023, he called Camilla “dangerous” and had no problem accusing her of leaking stories to the media.
“… There was open willingness on both sides to trade of information,” Harry said of Camilla’s relationship with the press, per CNN. “And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her, on the way to being Queen Consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the street because of that.” Harry did add, though, that he’s always “pleasant” toward Camilla when he sees her. “She’s my stepmother. I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother.”
