Even Camilla Parker Bowles Was Thinking About Princess Diana During the Coronation, the King’s Former Aide Claims
King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) coronation took place on May 6, 2023. It’s safe to say that many people who were alive when Charles was married to his first wife thought about Princess Diana when the crown was placed on Camilla’s head. Now, someone who used to work for Charles and Diana is convinced that Camilla was thinking about the late princess too at that very moment.
Here’s more on that, plus who the former royal assistant believes was the real star of the show that day and it’s not the king or queen.
Ex-royal employee said everyone was thinking about Princess Diana including Camilla
Paul Burrell began working for the royal family when he was 18 years old. He served as Queen Elizabeth II’s personal footman until he moved to then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s household in 1987. He remained Diana’s butler until her death in 1997.
In an interview with Spin Genie, Burrell spoke about how watching the coronation was almost surreal for him.
“It was a bittersweet moment for me and very emotional,” he explained. “I realized I was witnessing history being made but it wasn’t the history I expected to be made. What a meteoric rise Camilla has had, from the most reviled woman in Britain to the queen – that takes some consideration. When I was watching it I couldn’t help but think of our late queen and I couldn’t help but think of Diana.”
Burrell continued: “Diana’s spirit was there as I said because as I said before the coronation, I defy anyone in the country not to think of Diana because her boys would be thinking about her and Charles would be thinking about her, his wife who gave birth to his heir and spare. Surely Camilla would’ve thought of Diana, sat in her chair, standing in her shoes, wearing her crown.
“Odd, the way history has kinks and twists and there she is, sat with a crown on her head. She looked petrified, like a rabbit in the headlights.”
Burrell says the star of the show that day wasn’t a member of the royal family
The former butler also talked about another woman who he thought shined in her role during the ceremony and that is Penny Mordant.
“The star of the show for me was Penny Mordant, she stole the day,” he opined. “How she could possibly hold that sword for nearly an hour, my goodness, she should be in He-Man’s Masters of the Universe. To say that Theresa May put her in a corner to be forgotten about, well be careful what you do when you’re in politics because sometimes it can turn around and bite you. She shone, absolutely shone.”
