Why Prince William and Prince Harry Seemed ‘Uneasy’ When Prince Charles Married Camilla Parker Bowles
Prince William and Prince Harry lost their mother, Princess Diana, when they were young teenagers. Eight years later, the brothers witnessed their father, Prince Charles, marry his former mistress.
The official line from the palace was that William and Harry accepted the union. But according to a body language expert, the brothers appeared “uneasy” when their dad married Camilla Parker Bowles.
Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ romance began long before Prince William and Prince Harry were in the picture
Charles and Camilla fell in love long before they tied the knot in 2005. The two met back in the 1970s when they were in their 20s. But for reasons unknown, their relationship didn’t last. Both married other people, but it didn’t take long for them to rekindle things.
Diana famously said that there were three people in her marriage, which was a reference to Charles’ affair with Camilla. It’s one of the reasons that Charles and Diana split and eventually divorced in 1996.
Charles and Camilla continued dating behind the scenes when Princess Diana died
After Charles and Diana separated, the Prince of Wales continued his relationship with Camilla. As the media continued to chase the Princess of Wales, Charles and Camilla stayed out of the public eye.
When Diana tragically died in 1997, they continued to date behind the scenes. It wasn’t a secret that Charles and Camilla were together. But the public’s love for Diana made it difficult for many to accept the new couple.
They made their first public appearance together in 1999. But it wasn’t until 2005 that they announced their engagement amid much public scrutiny. Everyone had mixed feelings, especially William and Harry.
Royal authors claim Prince William and Prince Harry were not happy that Prince Charles remarried
In Penny Juror’s 2005 book The Firm, she wrote that Charles and Camilla waited until Harry and William were both grown and out of the house to get married.
“They didn’t want to foist a stepmother on William and Harry before they had fully grown up,” Juror wrote. “Accepting Camilla as a fixture in their father’s life has been difficult for them.”
In public, William and Harry appeared to joyfully accept their new stepmother. But in his book William’s Princess, royal author Robert Jobson claimed the brothers weren’t happy about the marriage. They did, however, accept that it was happening.
“Sure enough, privately, their mood was more one of ‘acceptance’ than undiluted joy at the prospect of having Camilla as their stepmother,” Jobson wrote.
A wedding photo reveals brothers’ ‘unease over Camilla’
Neither William nor Harry have ever spoken publicly about how they felt when Camilla married their dad. But body language expert Blanca Cobb says that one particular picture is worth a thousand words.
Cobb told Express that a photo taken after Charles and Camilla’s wedding ceremony with William, Harry, and Camilla’s children Tom and Laura Parker Bowles tells fans everything they need to know.
She explained that Harry was staring slightly right off camera because it’s possible he felt “uneasy about the situation.”
Prince William and Prince Harry said a lot with their smiles
Cobb theorized that Harry “was just going through the motions” on his father’s wedding day, while William appeared as if something was “weighing on his mind.” She pointed to Harry’s “posed smile” as evidence for her theory.
The expert also pointed out that William’s body language indicated he was “feeling a little nervous or some anxiety.” She said his smile was “stiff” and “plastered,” but his “fingers were curled.”
Ultimately, Cobb says that everyone in the photo showed “signs of nervousness.” But, they were all there to “support each other.”
