Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Ellie Fry & Fionnuala Boyle

Princess Anne gave Camilla 'cold shoulder' and held reservations about Queen Consort role

A new book has revealed how Princess Anne initially gave Camilla 'the cold shoulder' as she delivered a ruthless prediction of her sister-in-law's future as Queen Consort.

Royal biographer Angela Levin has unveiled fresh details of the Princess Royal's strained relationship with Camilla in her new biography of the Queen Consort, where she says that Camilla found Anne's 'frosty demeanour difficult'.

In an extract of 'Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: A Royal Survivor', Levin claims: "Like many people who didn't know Anne well, Camilla found her frosty demeanour difficult and somewhat unnerving to cope with [at first]", reports the Mirror.

Levin claims that "Anne was, for many years, opposed to the idea of Camilla being granted the title of Queen Consort" - an upsetting truth that may have shocked the former Duchess of Cornwall.

The Princess Royal once claimed that "Camilla will never be a true queen", according to the new book. The biography maps Camilla's difficult road road to becoming accept by the Royal Family, and uncovers how Princess Anne 'kept away' from the Queen Consort 'as much as possible' for years.

The royal biographer describes Anne and Camilla's relationship as 'particularly awkward' (Getty Images)

Levin says: "Princess Anne reportedly initially gave Camilla the cold shoulder. It was little consolation that the Princess Royal had also had a frosty relationship with Diana, for whom she had no time before she married Charles, and with Sarah, Duchess of York".

Commenting on the royal pair's past relationships, the expert continued: "Her relationship with Camilla was particularly awkward as they had both been involved with Andrew Parker Bowles".

Andrew Parker Bowles, a retired army officer, is the former husband of Queen Consort Camilla, but Princess Anne was also previously romantically connected with Bowles as they dated in the seventies.

The pairing between Bowles and the Princess Royal was not meant to be, however, as he is a Roman Catholic and therefore their marriage was 'out of the question' for the Royal Family.

Princess Anne and the Queen consort have both been involved with Andrew Parker Bowles (Getty)

Anne went on to marry Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, with whom she had two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall - however, their marriage ended in divorce in 1992.

Now married to King Charles, Camilla's divorce from Bowles was finalised in 1995 after they had been living separately for years. She has two children with her ex-husband, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes.

In her biography of the Queen Consort, Levin writes: "For years the Princess Royal kept away from Camilla as much as possible. However, time has proven to be a healer and Anne has seen for herself how hard Camilla has worked for the monarchy and her sense of duty.

"Gradually, she became more amenable". The royal biographer has also claimed that Meghan Markle was "unresponsive" to Camilla's offerings of advice and support when she first joined the Royal Family.

These explosive claims come after the news that Prince Harry reportedly 'snubbed' a dinner invite with Charles and William at Balmoral after Meghan was barred from joining the royals on the day the late monarch died.

Following a dispute between King Charles and Prince Harry following the sovereign's insistence that only close royals would travel to Balmoral on the day of the late Queen's death, Prince Harry's arrival in Scotland was allegedly delayed as he missed an RAF flight taken by his brother William, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.