“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded…” Those bombshell words from Diana, Princess of Wales were the confirmation, that we didn’t really need, of the affair between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles that overshadowed the marriage of Charles and Diana, The Prince and Princess of Wales.
It’s 26 years since that interview and 25 years since Diana, Princess of Wales died alongside Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul in a high-speed car crash in Paris. In the aftermath of Diana’s death, the prospect of Charles ascending to the throne with Camilla by his side was nothing but a pipe dream.
Popularity of the Royal Family was at an all-time low. At the time of Diana’s death, The Queen was at Balmoral, and it was five days before The Queen and Prince Philip returned to London to address the outpouring of grief that had engulfed the nation. The masses weren’t pleased. A lot of people felt that it was a continuation of the treatment of Diana, Princess of Wales, the disregard for her and her wellbeing that ultimately led to her death.
In 1997, polls conducted for BBC suggested that the British public were not keen on Charles becoming King if he married Camilla, . Eighty-six per cent of those polled also thought that Camilla shouldn’t be Queen. Only 43% of the public thought that Charles and Camilla should get married at all, with these ratings staying the same in the years after Diana’s death, right up unto the time the engagement of Charles and Camilla was announced in February 2005.
They married in April of that year, and since then Charles and Camilla have faced a long PR battle to show the softer, more personable side to both of them in the face of criticism over the way they both treated Diana, Princess of Wales.
But has the public really accepted Camilla? NBC News Royal Commentator Daisy McAndrew seems to think so. “I think how she’s managed to come in from the cold in the public’s perception and affection has been remarkable. It’s been a very deliberate policy of building up her public image slowly - and definitely not trying to position her as a ‘Diana mark 2’. She plowed a different path, tried to show her authentic self: more independent and yet homely, less showy, but solid and caring and I think it’s worked.
"She’s also let it be known she has a sense of humour and can make Charles appear more human which is crucial. She’s taken on her own issues like domestic abuse and book reading and is cutting through on those I think. She’s wisely never attempted to ‘outshine’ Diana.”
Prince Charles and his bride Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as they leave St George's Chapel in Windsor, England, April 9, 2005 following the church blessing of their civil wedding ceremony. (AP Photo/ Alastair Grant, File)
Camilla recently celebrated a milestone 75th birthday with a magazine feature in Vogue UK and the cover of U.K. magazine Country Life, which she also guest edited. With photographs by Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge and recipes from her own kitchen featured in the Country Life spread, her PR team have been working overtime – and then some – to get Camilla out to the masses, to show a more human, softer side to her, far from the marriage-wrecker she has been chalked up as in the past.
She’s been repackaged as everything from the ultimate grandma, to a glam-ma, to Prince Charles’ “strength and stay” and ultimately our next Queen. In this massive PR push Camilla has come across and charming and fun; at her 75th birthday lunch of invited guests in her age bracket she cracked jokes about only being invited because of her age; in a documentary about rural life she highlighted issues such as domestic violence and called herself a “country woman.”
Camilla has refrained from addressing what it was like, being the third person in the marriage of Charles and Diana, and has never commented on the record about Diana herself. But speaking to Vogue UK she said, “It's not easy...I was scrutinized for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it," she said. "Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticized ...But I think in the end, I sort of rise above it and get on with it. You've got to get on with life.”
There is one thing however, that may have sealed Camilla’s place on the throne beside her beloved Prince Charles – the Queen’s approval. In February of this year the Queen issued a statement saying it was her, “sincere wish that, when the time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.” This is the rubber-stamped seal of approval that resolves the sensitive issue of the Queen finally endorsing Charles and Camilla.
It had widely been speculated that she would hold the title of Princess Consort, not Queen Consort, once Charles became king, but this statement proved otherwise. Now, if there’s one thing the Great British public have, it’s an affinity with the Queen. The Platinum Jubilee celebrations up and down the country were widely successful because a lot of Brits love the Queen – not necessarily the Royal Family. Recent scandals involving Prince Andrew and Prince Charles have contributed to the perception that there’s a lot of drama and dodgy dealings in the family that the Queen rises above. But, if Queen Elizabeth II has said that Camilla should be Queen Consort, then we can expect most of the British public to accept her in that way. To them, the Queen’s endorsement means everything.
Twenty-five years after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales she remains the People’s Princess, an icon of philanthropy and fashion, an almost super-celebrity, the most photographed woman in the world, who died trying to escape having her photo taken.
There are those people, for whom Diana remains a victim of press intrusion and ultimately the Royal Family. As commemorations of her death, and the slew of documentaries, magazine covers, and true crime podcasts about her and her untimely death that will follow in the coming days, it will be a difficult time for Charles and Camilla, as well as Harry, William and all those who knew and loved Diana, Princess of Wales. But as the Royal Family moves into the next generation, with Charles as King and Camilla by his side, there’s a quiet acceptance of the status quo. Diana will remain the People’s Princess, and Camilla will be their Queen Consort.
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