When Did Prince William And Prince Harry Meet Camilla Parker Bowles?

It's safe to say Prince William and Prince Harry once had a complicated relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. The Duchess of Cornwall had reached infamy for being the mistress of their father, Prince Charles, when he was still married to the late Princess Diana. At one point, she was helmed as the "most hated woman in Britain," due to her direct involvement in the dissolution of Charles and Diana's marriage, per NBC News.

It's been years since Camilla officially became a part of the British royal family. She and Prince Charles wed in 2005, earning her the title "Duchess of Cornwall." It also seems like she has a civil relationship with her husband's sons, but back when they were younger, that allegedly wasn't the case. Per PopSugar, Diana had been open about her feelings about Camilla to her sons and called her "Charles' lady." This supposedly led William and Harry to have ill feelings toward their eventual step-mother.

It's probably also why it took so long for Prince William and Prince Harry to meet Camilla in person. She and their father had known each other since the 1970s and maintained a close friendship, even though they first married other people. So, when did Prince William and Prince Harry meet Camilla Parker Bowles?

Whether or not Prince William and Prince Harry knew about Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' affair is still largely unconfirmed. After all, they were still both young boys at the time. But given that the issue regarding the affair was highly publicized, it's safe to say that they at least had an idea of what was going on. According to reports, they also didn't meet Camilla until after Princess Diana had passed.

Per The Guardian, it was Prince William who met Camilla first. News of the initial meeting was first published in tabloids, but a spokeswoman that worked for the Firm had confirmed the event. According to the publication, the whole thing was unexpected and took only about half an hour in 1998. It happened when then 16-year-old Prince William paid a visit to the St. James Palace unexpectedly, and it just so happened that Camilla was also there. 

Details of what happened weren't disclosed, but after the initial encounter, it was reported that the two met for a second and third time over tea and lunch. Apparently, a few weeks later, Harry had met her, too. And then in 1999, both Prince William and Prince Harry joined Prince Charles and Camilla on a holiday in Greece, per BBC. It wasn't until 2000 that Camilla met Queen Elizabeth, who would become her mother-in-law five years later. 

Unlike Queen Elizabeth, who had shown her distaste for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' relationship in the beginning, it looked like Prince William and Prince Harry had been supportive of their father. They both showed up when the couple tied the knot in 2005, along with Camilla's two children from her previous marriage, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles.

William and Harry don't talk about Camilla much in interviews, but in 2005, Prince Harry confirmed to BBC that their relationship with their stepmother was great. Harry, who conducted many interviews around his 21st birthday, said that above all else, their father's happiness was the priority. He also said that Camilla was "a wonderful woman and she's made our father very, very happy, which is the most important thing."

To clear things up, Prince Harry also confirmed that Camilla wasn't the evil stepmother the media was making her out to be. "William and I love her to bits," he added. "To be honest with you, she's always been very close to me and William ... but no, she's not the wicked stepmother. I'll say that right now."