Queen Elizabeth Only Ended a Years-Long ‘Rift’ With King Charles About Queen Camilla After Talking to 1 Person
Prince William and Prince Harry aren’t the royals who have been at odds. Queen Elizabeth II and her son, King Charles III, once had a rift spanning years regarding Queen Camilla. Ahead, how the “rift” ultimately ended and what left the late monarch in giggles on Charles and Camilla’s wedding day.
The queen didn’t like how King Charles and Queen Camilla’s affair damaged the monarchy
For decades before saying their I do’s, King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, had an affair. It was this relationship, per royal biographer Andrew Morton, that didn’t sit well with Queen Elizabeth.
Speaking to OK! Magazine, while promoting his latest book, The Queen: Her Life, Morton explained although the late monarch was close to her son and heir in her final years, they’d had their ups and downs.
Their relationship, per the outlet, was “fractured for a bit due to Charles’ scandalous love triangle with Princess Diana and Queen Camilla.”
“The queen and her advisers, her courtiers, her private secretary — they all believed that Prince Charles should give up Camilla,” Morton said. “He could love her, but he needed to leave her. And that’s because they felt she was damaging to the monarchy, which she was. There’s no question about that.”
Queen Elizabeth ended the ‘rift’ with Charles after being told Camilla’s feelings weren’t ‘going away’
“The presence of Camilla in Charles’ life did cause a rift between the queen and her eldest son, one which took several years to patch up,” Morton continued. “And what’s the queen’s job? It is to preserve the monarchy. She sees this woman who is damaging the monarchy remaining in place. So it took a long time for that to be resolved.”
As for what put an end to the “rift” between Queen Elizabeth and King Charles? Morton said the late monarch put it all behind her following a conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury. (Royal watchers may recognize the figure from royal weddings.)
“It wasn’t until the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, intervened” that the “rift” dissolved, Morton explained. Per the royal biographer, the archbishop spoke highly of Camilla and that was enough for the queen. He “said, ‘Look, I’ve spoken to Camilla on numerous occasions. She’s dedicated and loving. And her feelings for Charles are not going away.’”
And that, apparently, was that. From then on, there was no more Queen Elizabeth and King Charles “rift.”
Queen Elizabeth had a ‘good sense of humor’ on Charles and Camilla’s wedding day
After putting the “rift” aside with her eldest son, Queen Elizabeth had a “good sense of humor” about a slip-up when King Charles and Queen Camilla married. On April 9, 2005, the pair exchanged vows in a civil ceremony, which the queen skipped. She later joined the newlyweds for a religious blessing at St. George’s Chapel and a reception.
Taking Camilla’s wedding day mistake in stride, the queen laughed when the bride accidentally put on two different shoes. In a tribute to Queen Elizabeth filmed prior to her September 2022 death, Camilla recalled how her mother-in-law laughed when she realized she wasn’t wearing matching shoes to walk down the aisle.
“I remember coming from here, Clarence House, to go to Windsor the day I got married when I probably wasn’t firing on all cylinders — quite nervous,” Camilla recalled. “For some unknown reason, I put on a pair of shoes, and one had an inch heel, and one had a two-inch heel. So, I mean, talk about hop-along!”
“There was nothing I could do,” she continued. “I was halfway down in the car before I realized. And, [the queen] could see it, and she laughed about it and said, ‘I’m terribly sorry,’ and she did have a good sense of humor.”
