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Prince Harry has to contend with stepmom Queen Camilla to earn his spot in the royal family as he replaces her as the royal outcast. Before Camilla, the then-Prince Charles was married to Princess Diana, who passed away in August 1997 in a tragic car crash. However, her marriage to Queen Elizabeth II’s oldest son ended long before that. The late Princess of Wales welcomed two sons with Charles. The duo, Prince Harry and Prince William had to watch their parents’ marriage crumble as teenagers.
Princess Diana famously referenced Charles’ affair with a third woman in her infamous BBC interview, revealing that “there were three of us in that marriage.” Ultimately, the ire of the British public and the world turned on the presumed third party, blaming her for ruining Princess Diana’s marriage. Said affair has haunted Queen Camilla throughout her royal career, resulting in her perception as an “outcast,” both the British royals and the public struggled to accept for years despite becoming King Charles’ lawfully-wedded wife.
Prince Harry and Queen Camilla Swapped Roles Within the Royal Family
There seems to be a shift in this approval rating in recent times, with the queen steadily winning over the people’s hearts. However, another royal family member appears to bear the brunt. The documentary, Queen Camilla: The Wicked Stepmother? explored this changing dynamics, implying a shift in roles between Prince Harry and his stepmom Queen Camilla in the heart of the public and within the royal fold. Addressing this in the documentary, journalist, Petronella divulged,
“I think it’s very interesting to see how Harry’s position and Camilla’s position within the royal family has reversed because Camilla used to be the hated and despised outcast. Now Harry’s the outcast and Camilla’s seen with affection as a sort of safe pair of hands.”
Diana’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson also weighed in on the subject while appearing in the documentary. He noted that the 77-year-old was a far cry from the simple country woman she appeared to be at first. He described her as a “shrewd, politically media-savvy person.”
“Cold-Blooded” King Charles Sacrificed Harry For His Mistress’ Reputation
Patrick also discussed the royal family’s “campaign to rehabilitate Camilla” into a persona the public could finally accept. According to Patrick, the royals did not exercise subtlety in their mission to liberate Queen Camilla from the position of a royal outcast, molding her reputation by all means necessary, mostly at Prince Harry’s expense. He added,
“I think Charles’ office was pretty cold-blooded in the way they used Harry, misrepresenting facts in order to portray his father and his mistress in a better light.”
The Duke of Sussex’s unpopularity within the royal family takes roots from his decision to step back from his royal duties alongside wife Meghan Markle in 2020. Prince Harry followed his shocking decision with several explosive revelations about the royal family in interviews, documentaries, and in his memoir Spare, in which the now-royal “outcast” openly labeled Queen Camilla as the “third person” in his parent’s marriage.
Casting dirt on the royals did not exactly age well as his initial heartwarming US reception backfired following a South Park episode portraying Harry and Meghan as “perpetual victims.” Thus began Prince Harry’s journey as a royal outcast.
Concurrently, the tables seemed to turn in Camilla’s favor, with her rising up to the task of Queen consort. 2024 offered Queen Camilla the ultimate chance to shed the “outcast” role for good as two senior royals King Charles and Kate Middleton battled challenging health conditions, leading to their limited royal roles. Thankfully, the Queen consort filled those shoes with ease, becoming, as Peronella puts it, “a sort of safe pair of hands” the royals, and by extension, the British public can rely on.
