Camilla Parker Bowles Worked Her Magic on Prince Charles to Change Him Completely, Royal Authors Say
Prince Charles‘ wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, may always be thought of by some as the woman who broke up Princess Diana and the Prince of Wales’ marriage. But to others, the Duchess of Cornwall is the woman who has changed Charles’ uptight, entitled behavior.
Here’s what two royal authors have said about Camilla working her magic to totally transform the prince into a more relaxed and “happier” person.
Prince Charles was in love with Camilla before he met Princess Diana
The future king and Camilla met at a polo match in the early ’70s; years before Charles knew Diana. At the time the prince and Camilla were both in their early 20s. They hit it off right away and began dating. However, that came to an end when Charles traveled overseas with the Royal Navy.
While Charles was away Camilla reconnected with her old flame, Andrew Parker Bowles, and they ended up getting married in 1973.
Charles was said to have been heartbroken over that news but had to find a suitable woman he could marry, and when Diana came into the picture she was just that. Their marriage though didn’t last though as the princess learned that she couldn’t change Charles or the love he still had for Camilla.
Camilla’s influence over Charles has changed him
Although Diana wasn’t able to change Charles, royal biographers have claimed that Camilla has changed a number of things about her husband.
Tina Brown, author of the book The Palace Papers, wrote that Charles has always been “notoriously uptight.” In fact, there were rumblings over the years that his staffers even referred to him as the “pampered prince.”
According to Brown, Camilla who is much more relaxed than her husband, has been like a “horse whisperer of his emotional needs and always knew how to dispense tough love with charm. If Camilla had a family motto, it would be ‘Thou Shalt Not Whine.'”
Fellow author Penny Junor agreed that the duchess’s “influence on Charles over the years appears to have worked its magic, turning the future monarch into a ‘much happier man.'”
“[Charles] used to be quite a morose character; he was very serious and didn’t laugh a lot,” Junor previously told Hello! (per Daily Mail). “Camilla snapped him out of that and she has completely transformed him. He is a much happier man and has so much more confidence these days. It’s wonderful to see.”
Prince Charles’ wife gets a ‘queen’ upgrade
On April 9, 2005, the prince and Camilla said “I do.” In an effort to ease some of the blowback about the late Princess of Wales, it was announced that Camilla would not use that style closely related to Diana and instead go by the Duchess of Cornwall. Moreover, when Charles becomes king his second wife would be “princess consort” not “queen consort.” That was until February 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II changed that.
As the monarch celebrated her Platinum Jubliee marking an incredible 70 years on the throne she directly addressed Camilla’s future title. The BBC noted that when the prince ascends the throne the duchess will indeed be “queen consort” as that refers to the spouse of a ruling king.
A Clarence House spokesman said Charles and Camilla were both “touched and honored” by that announcement.
