“I don’t want to talk about that evil woman” – this line is attributed to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and is believed to have been uttered about a quarter of a century ago by the future second wife of her eldest son Prince Charles. In one of his most difficult periods, approval fell sharply, blamed for the tragic death of Charles’ first wife, and Lady Diana died in a car crash in Paris with her boyfriend, Dodi al-Fayed, in 1997, haunted by paparazzi. And although she has been divorced from the prince for a year, and nearly ten of them have broken off because of infidelity between them, Charles is unable to demonstrate a relationship with his longtime mistress Camilla. publicly together, a
get consent
from the queen to
married in 2005
In recent days, all these circumstances have been recalled over and over again in Britain to see how long and thorny Camilla’s journey to the title of Queen Consort was, which Elizabeth II assigned her to receive after Charles succeeded her to the throne. Until now, it was thought that the Duchess of Cornwall could only be called a “princess” when one day her husband became king. There were even suggestions that it would be best for him to relinquish the crown in favor of his son Prince William, as he had created serious enough problems for the monarchy with his tumultuous short marriage to Diana and his long extramarital affair with Camilla.
However, on the 70th anniversary of her reign, Elizabeth II buried all the scenarios for a break in the line of succession to the throne. He did so with a special message not to the heir to the throne Charles, but to his 74-year-old wife Camilla, who had to endure many hardships and humiliations because about half a century ago began a love affair with the prince.
The two met in 1971, when she was 24 and he was 23. Initially, they were just friends, but later embarked on
hot love
adventure,
which was terminated after the prince went abroad to join the British Royal Navy. There are many versions of their separation, from Charles’ reluctance to marry so young to the palace’s disapproval of his chosen one. According to one of their biographers, Camilla is defined as “the unreliable partner of the heir to the throne” because she has no aristocratic background and her previous love affairs are known. Others argue that it is a simple misunderstanding – the prince simply did not show that he was serious in his intentions, and she married an old friend.
There are also some strange moments around her first marriage to Officer Andrew Parker Bowles. Camilla met him before meeting Charles through her younger brother. They have a relationship that is broken and renewed several times. Their engagement was announced in 1973 in the Times, alleging that the message was sent by their parents without their knowledge and Andrew was forced to make her an offer. They got married the same year. At the end of 1974 a son was born to them, and in 1978 a daughter.
Meanwhile, Charles is enjoying his bachelor life, with the press periodically associating him with various beauties and hinting that it’s time for him to get married after he turns 30. In this atmosphere, he meets 19-year-old Diana, who comes from a noble family. and too young to be a woman with a history like Camilla. Apparently, this is why she quickly received approval from the palace, and after only a few months of love, the heir to the throne proposed to her. Their wedding in July 1981 was called fabulous and was watched on television by a record number of viewers around the world. The following year, their first son, William, was born, and two years later, their second, Harry. In the early 1990s, there was talk of a rift in their marriage, which was initially denied, but in late 1992 the two separated. A few months later, Diana blames Camilla for her problems with Charles, claiming that the two continued to have a love affair even after starting a family. Her remark: “Our marriage was overcrowded because there were three of us”, haunted the heir to the throne for a long time and he finally confessed his love for Camilla, after she divorced in 1995. Meanwhile, the media received a lot of unpleasant things about infidelity his with her during his marriage to Diana. It is said that a few days before the wedding he sent his mistress a gold bracelet with the initials of their secret names, which they use to correspond with each other. He also warns his future wife that he will always take time for Camilla. Diana herself realized that this would be a factor in their personal lives, but she did not realize that it would make it unbearable.
Things get even worse for Charles after her death, as she is seen as a continuation of the scandals in which the Princess of Wales gets involved.
in search of
justice for
failed marriage
with the heir to the throne. Called the “Princess of the People”, she became so interesting to the media that even after her divorce from Charles, she was persecuted by paparazzi around the world, and died in one such race in Paris.
Therefore, for a long time he did not even dare to raise the issue of Camilla with his mother, although it is publicly known that the two already live together. And when he was still afraid to do so about a year after Diana’s funeral, he countered with the line, “I don’t want to talk about that evil woman.” It was many years before Elizabeth II accepted that this was her eldest son’s choice.
During this time, Camilla does not reveal for a moment what she thinks about the issue – neither through direct comments, nor through those of her friends, as Diana does, facing problems during her life in the palace. She stoically endures all criticism that she lacks the style of the “princess of the people” and that she is the most despised mistress in the kingdom. He also tacitly accepts the fact that she received the title of “Duchess of Cornwall” when she married Charles in 2005, and the stipulation that
that it will be called
“Princess”, not
“Queen Consort”
(the king’s wife) when he sits on the throne. It is believed that all this was done to avoid comparisons and contradictions with the late Diana, who at that time the memory is still very strong. Unlike Camilla, she received the title of “Princess of Wales” when she married the heir to the throne.
Therefore, the queen’s decision to eliminate this kind of injustice is even more important for what is happening in the British royal family. According to the Daily Mail, it reveals that Camilla is not only fully accepted in him, but that she has become the most central female figure since Elizabeth II herself – a trusted and reassuring bond between young and old in the family. “The saying that time changes everything has never been more appropriate. The woman, who was once seen as a problem for the palace and a threat to the throne, is now seen as a solution to the challenges facing him through the beneficial influence it has on the person who will succeed him, “the newspaper writes.
Historian Robert Lacey believes there is a connection between the Queen’s decision on Camilla and the death of Prince Philip less than a year ago. “This is a big factor why Her Majesty is announcing her will for the future title of the King’s wife right now. She has just lost her own husband and has obviously thought about the importance of her partner when you are on the throne. The British royal family is often called “the company” and this really seems like the right introduction of Camilla in “company affairs”, the historian commented to the BBC.
Some British publications note that Crown Prince William did not take part in the decision on his stepmother’s future title “Queen Consort”, although his grandmother and father are increasingly seeking his opinion on key issues for the monarchy. guarantees intergenerational continuity. However, he made it clear that he supported him, and although his relationship with Camilla was not easy at the beginning of her marriage to Charles, he looked pragmatically at her role in the family and the future of the monarchy.
Charles and Camilla visit Cairo in 2021
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