Queen Camilla is set for an awkward reunion with Prince Harry at King Charles’ Coronation next month after being upset by his comments in his memoir.
The pair have not seen each other since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last September and in the intervening period, the Duke of Sussex has hurt his stepmother by vilifying her in his controversial autobiography released in January, as well as ruffling more than a few feathers in his and wife Meghan’s Netflix series.
In Spare, he described her as ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ , while also accusing her of leaving ‘bodies in the street’ in her efforts to change the public’s perception of her.
He also claimed she ’sacrificed him’ so as to improve her standing and blamed her for leaking stories to the press about Meghan Markle.
And after accepting an invitation to his father’s historic coronation on May 6 – in which he will come alone as Meghan and their children are staying in California – there could be a few uncomfortable moments between the pair.
One of Camilla’s great friends and supporters is the Marchioness of Lansdowne, who is godmother to Camilla’s daughter Laura Lopes, and she has revealed to the Sunday Times that the new Queen was dismayed by Harry’s comments.
She said: “It was not stamping of feet or gnashing of teeth – it was much more of an eye-roll response.
“But of course it bothers her, of course it hurts, but she doesn’t let it get to her.
“Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down – least said, soonest mended’.”
In his tome Spare, the Duke – who also with his brother William had begged their father not to marry Camilla – wrote: “I have complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
Lady Lansdowne also revealed her admiration at Camilla for taking on the new Queen’s mantle, adding: “The extraordinary thing is that she has taken it on now at 75.
“It’s a hell of a thing to be doing when most of us are settling down into retirement.”
An insider also told the Sunday Times that Camilla has been struggling to get her voice heard during the preparations for the big event, but she does have a steely determination inside of her.
The source said: “You can see it with the rehearsals for the Coronation – getting her voice heard has sometimes been challenging.
“But she is making sure her voice is heard by going, ‘This is what I think about it’, and by talking to the King.
“He wants to make his wife happy – she has earned that right.
“She is anxious it should go well and has instincts about ways it might be better tweaked.”
Camilla’s crowning next month alongside her husband will be the first coronation in the UK for 70 years and it has been revealed that not many members of the Royal Family have much interest in speaking to Harry.
He could well have a couple of allies in Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, despite their mother, the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, not being invited to the ceremony, which has come as a major surprise to some Royal Family observers.
