According toVanity Fair, this was very much intentional.
However, there’s another possible narrative about Camilla’s relationship with the press.
Her great-grandmother was Alice Keppel, who was a mistress of King Edward VII.
“My job is to curtsy first, and then jump into bed!”
her great-grandmother would say.
According to Camilla’s childhood friend William Shawcross, the Shand home was an enjoyable one to be around.
“There were ponies, dogs, picnics.
There was no pomp, no snobbery, but a lot of fun for all ages.
The Shands were a happy clan.”
Shawcross then elaborated on Camilla’s childhood.
“Rosalind used to let Camilla and Annabel go on riding-and-camping nights,” Shawcross recalled.
“They slept on the downs in sleeping bags.”
Perhaps realizing that he was making her childhood sound idyllic, Shawcross confirmed that’s exactly what it was.
“There’s always a risk of being too nostalgic about one’s own youth,” he said.
“But we were very lucky, growing up in the ’50s in the countryside in England.”
That being said, Camilla has remained close friends with her ex-husband.
He was in attendance at her coronation, and his friend toldThe Timesthat the invite surprised no one.
“They are joined at the hip … " the friend said.
“He’s right in there.
He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.”
The Marchioness of Lansdowne, a friend of Camilla’s, confirmed the sentiment.
“Everybody loves Andrew,” she said.
“He’s a real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving.”
Parker Bowles and his ex-wife frequently tell each other when they have done something wrong, she explained.
“Through adversity they’ve kept a really good family ethic.
It helps with their children and grandchildren.”
According toThe Guardian, then-Prince Charles admitted to having been unfaithful in a 1994 documentary.
So it was a bit crowded” (viaYouTube).
“She’s not a home wrecker, she’s not a husband stealer,” he insisted.
“I don’t think that Charles' marriage with Diana foundered because of Camilla.
That’s just a myth that the press likes to create and perpetuate.”
It would take decades for public opinion to swing her way.
In 1993, the media published transcripts of a recorded conversation between Charles and Camilla.
Her friend William Shawcross told NBC News that she weathered all of the attention quietly.
“She’s always been discreet and she has never sought to answer back,” he said.
On the other hand, Camilla’s friends were quite disappointed with how Charles handled the situation.
Things got even worse when Diana died.
“We’d come around the corner and they’d be there with cameras.
She was absolutely calm.
She would say, can we take one picture, and then can you leave us alone?”
“She’s not a wicked stepmother … " he said.
William and I love her to bits.”
He wrote that she orchestrated “a campaign aimed at marriage.”
A friend of Camilla’s toldVanity Fairthat the elder royal had a strong reaction to the ITV interview.
“[She’s] just astounded by the whole thing,” the friend said.
“Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts.
But she doesn’t let it get to her,” she said.
She toldVoguethat, unlike a lot of people, she has a fondness for Camilla.
The actor met her real-life inspiration at an International Women’s Day event in 2022.
So, Emerald, be prepared!"
However, kinda looks Camilla may have never actually seen Fennell’s portrayal of her.
She said, “I don’t think they watch it, and I never watch it.
Shortly thereafter, she purchased Ray Mill House, a gorgeous country estate in Wiltshire.
For example, her daughter, Laura Lopes, had her wedding there.
According to the Marchioness of Lansdowne, the royal treasures the escape she finds at Ray Mill House.
She once toldCountry Life, “It is my refuge.
The one place where I can be completely relaxed on my own terms.”
They represent the monarchy, after all, so historically, monarchs are expected to remain stern.
Behind the scenes, however, members of the royal family are, after all, people.
“They’re fun.
“They laugh at each other’s jokes, they support each other, they have fun together.
They sort of wink across the table.”
It was not until both couples divorced in the mid-’90s that they could finally make their relationship official.
Still, according toThe Guardian, Prince William met his father’s new (old) flame in 1998.
They finally wed in 2005 at a civil ceremony.
I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind would leave you for Camilla.
Such a prospect never even entered our heads” (viaThe Mirror).
“[She] got on very well with Prince Philip,” he toldThe Washington Post.
“Many people were scared or in awe of him.
That jives with what Camilla herself has said about her relationship with her father-in-law.
“The Duke of Edinburgh was always a very good ear.
They could only have been leaked by the one other person present.”
“That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press.”
Camilla’s friends dispute Prince Harry’s characterization of her relationship with the media.
We thought that it was gonna cause more harm than good.
And that if he was now with his person, that surely that’s enough.
Why go that far when you don’t necessarily need to?”
“Literally the last thing she could care about is being queen.
It’s absurd, and anyone who knows her knows it is absurd.”
The Marchioness of Lansdowne gave her friend props for being willing to assume the throne late in life.
Furthermore, Lady Lansdowne revealed, Camilla had a hand in crafting the prestigious event’s select guest list.
“She wants to be loyal to the people who’ve stood by her.”
