5 Times Prince Harry Publicly Threw Shade At Queen Camilla
Prince Harry and Queen Camilla's relationship has had its ups and downs, which doesn't seem shocking considering how she came into the royal's life. Camilla turned Harry's world upside down as she was the mistress in his parents' marriage. Rumblings of Camilla's affair with King Charles began in the early '90s, just years after Harry was born, per People. In 1994, Charles confessed to the infidelity in an interview with ITV, per the New York Times. When asked if he tried to be faithful to Princess Diana, Charles responded, "Yes ... until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried." Harry was still young when news of the affair broke, and just a couple of years later, his mother, Princess Diana, would tragically pass in a car accident.
With all these tragic events, many wouldn't have blamed Harry for being angry with Camilla and Charles, but whenever the two were in the public eye, they were cordial. Even after Harry left the royal family, he still gave Camilla grace. He told "Good Morning America" (via HuffPost), "When I see her, we're perfectly pleasant with each other. She's my stepmother. I don't look at her as an evil stepmother." He continued, "I see someone who has married into this institution and done everything she can to improve her own reputation and her own image, for her own sake." But as cordial as the two may seem, there have been times when Harry has thrown some shade Camilla's way.
Prince Harry shaded Queen Camilla for renovating his bedroom
Prince Harry and Queen Camilla lived under the same roof at one point. According to People, Camilla moved into King Charles' home, Clarence House, in London in 2003, marking a monumental point in their relationship. When Camilla moved in, Prince Harry also lived in Clarence House with his father. The royal did not move out of the home until nearly ten years later when he moved near his brother, Prince William, around the Kensington Palace area, per CNN. Prince Harry may have been ready to leave the nest, but he wasn't ready to give up everything about his old stomping ground. To his surprise, when he returned to Clarence House on a visit, he was shocked to find his bedroom had undergone a major transformation.
In his 2023 memoir, "Spare," Harry threw shade at Camilla after he claimed that once he moved out of Clarence House, she turned his room into a personal dressing room, per Page Six. Based on the countless new and surprising outfits Queen Camilla has worn over the years, it's not shocking they took over another room in Clarence House, but the abrupt change left the Duke of Sussex in shock and a bit sad. He wrote, "I tried not to care. But especially the first time I saw it, I cared." Based on what Harry wrote, it seems Camilla didn't ask his permission to change the room and went about it in a shady way.
Prince Harry called Camilla dangerous
Prince Harry didn't hold back when talking about his feelings about his stepmom, Queen Camilla, in his memoir "Spare." Going into details that not everyone knew before, Harry shared how he really felt about Camilla after her affair with his father, King Charles. According to Today, the Duke of Sussex shared that Camilla's need to repair her image after the affair "made her dangerous." Harry ultimately worried about "the connections she was forging in the British press." The royal family's relationship with the press has been rocky for years as the two have never truly trusted each other but have ironically relied on one another. Harry continued to write, "There was open willingness on both sides to trade information," referring to Camilla and the British press. This willingness is why the royal considered his stepmom dangerous, and he let it be known in his book.
As if that wasn't harsh enough, Harry went as far as to share the exaggerated lengths Camilla would be willing to go to repair her image. He wrote, "With a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being queen consort, there was going to be people or bodies left in the street." The Duke of Sussex continued to throw damaging claims Camilla's way during his press run for his memoir, reiterating in an interview with "60 Minutes" (via CNN) that Camilla supposedly leaked stories to the press to better her image.
Prince Harry called out Queen Camilla's mistreatment toward Meghan Markle
It's no secret that Meghan Markle's royal experience included some spine-chilling details. From the public, press, and even the royal family, Meghan faced constant scrutiny from all sides. In her and Prince Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah, the Duchess of Sussex even revealed that during her time with the family, the backlash had gotten so bad that she asked one of the "most senior people" for help, but they did nothing about the scrutiny and nothing for her mental health, per Cosmopolitan.
This sentiment of asking for help and receiving nothing in return was reiterated in Harry's memoir, and this time, he called out Queen Camilla specifically. Harry revealed that Meghan went to Camilla for advice, as the queen has faced her wave of backlash in the past, per Daily Mail. However, the Duchess of Sussex didn't get the response she would have liked. Harry wrote, "[Meghan] reached out to Camilla, who tried to counsel her by saying this was just what the press always did to newcomers, that it would all pass in due time, that Camilla had been the bad guy once." Instead of stopping the never-ending hate, Camilla insinuated that everyone in the royal family had to deal with something like this. Harry shared, "The implication being what? Now it was Meg's turn? As if it were apples to apples." Camilla's response was truly baffling to Harry, and he was more than willing to call her out on it.
Prince Harry hinted at tension growing between Camilla
Prince Harry may have put on a front that he and Queen Camilla got along, but that didn't seem to be the truth, especially when Meghan Markle came around. The Duke of Sussex hinted at rising tension between Camilla and the couple. In his book, Harry even instructed Meghan not to curtsy for his stepmom. He wrote, "Meg and I had rehearsed this moment several times. For Pa, curtsy. Say, Your Royal Highness, or Sir. Maybe a kiss on each cheek if he leans in, otherwise a handshake. For Camilla, no curtsy. Not necessary. Just a quick kiss or handshake." Meghan had even double-checked to make sure that it was okay to not curtsy for Camilla, and he said it was not "appropriate." Yikes!
Although it may seem like the no curtsy was a bit harsh, Prince Harry confirmed that Camilla was just as shady. When Meghan asked Camilla for help with the hate she was getting, the queen did suggest a trip for the couple. Harry wrote, "Camilla also suggested to Meg that I become Governor General of Bermuda, which would solve all our problems by removing us from the red-hot center of the maelstrom." Seems sweet, right? But as kind of a suggestion as it may have appeared, Harry believed that Camilla's intentions had ulterior motives. He said, "Right, right, I thought, and one added bonus of that plan would be to get us out of the picture."
Prince Harry and Prince William begged King Charles not to marry Camilla
While the conversation around King Charles and Queen Camilla's relationship has never truly died, when the criticism was at an all-time high, Prince William and Prince Harry begged their father not to marry Camilla, per Newsweek. Harry wrote in his memoir, "Willy and I promised Pa that we'd welcome Camilla into the family. The only thing we asked in return was that he not marry her." William and Harry already faced so much media attention from the affair they didn't want to deal with it anymore. Harry revealed he and William told Charles, "You don't need to remarry, we pleaded. A wedding would cause controversy. It would incite the press. It would make the whole country, the whole world, talk about Mummy, compare Mummy and Camilla, and nobody wanted that. Least of all Camilla." To Harry and William, having their father marry Camilla wasn't worth all the criticism the family would receive.
Despite William and Harry's plea, Charles did marry Camilla. In February 2005, the couple announced their engagement, and ironically, what played out in public was the opposite of what was happening behind the scenes. Harry and William released a joint statement regarding their father's engagement, expressing their excitement for the nuptials. They said, "We are both very happy for our father and Camilla, and we wish them all the luck in the future." Two months later, the couple wed in a low-key ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.