Charles and Camilla’s marriage is on the rocks
THE SHOCKING NEW BOOK THAT’S ROCKED THE PALACE TO THE CORE
An explosive new book has unleashed a raft of dark secrets that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have kept hidden for 40 long years, threatening to tear their fragile marriage apart once and for all.
Palace insiders confirm the royal couple are ‘one step closer to divorce’ thanks to the release of a scandalous tell-all by New York Times bestselling author Sally Bedell Smith.
The book blows apart the fairytale myth of Charles’ life – revealing that he felt bullied by his father Prince Philip, forced to marry Princess Diana and dump Camilla for not being ‘virginal’ enough and that he wept tears of sorrow on his wedding night.
It’s put untold strain on the heir’s fractured marriage to Camilla, 69, with Charles ‘mortified’ that his private life and love secrets have been laid bare.
‘Let’s be honest – Camilla and Charles’ marriage has been hanging on by a string for months now,’ a palace aide says. ‘More scandal and more scrutiny is the last thing they need.
‘Camilla is furious that the palace couldn’t shut this down, and that Charles and Diana’s romance is back in the headlines.
‘She feels like she’s always going to play second fiddle to Diana, even though she’s no longer alive and Camilla is the future Queen of England.
‘She thinks they made a mistake getting married and trying to rewrite the history books – and this book proves it.
‘Meanwhile, Charles is sick of it all and just wants out. He’s 68 now and just wants to live in peace – no marriage dramas, no romance secrets.
‘He just wants to be alone, and that’s why he is happy now to walk away from the marriage.’
In the book Prince Charles: The Passions And Paradoxes Of An Improbable Life, the author details shocking secrets about Charles’ upbringing and his romantic woes – including unheard revelations about his marriage to Diana.
Most telling was how Charles was ordered to marry after his father wrote him a letter demanding he propose to Diana
– even though he didn’t want her.
Philip, who communicated with Charles by letter rather than by speaking to him, wrote that his son ‘should either propose to [Diana] or release her. In either event, he should make a decision shortly.’
Family friend Pamela Hicks says Charles ‘wasn’t in love, he wasn’t ready... psychologically he assumed his father bullied him, so he read it as a bullying letter’.
Charles’ dreams of marrying Camilla – who reportedly had ‘enormous sex appeal’ – had been dashed after his father deemed her not ‘virginal’ enough.
While Charles was ‘powerfully attracted’ to Camilla, a marriage was banned because ‘conventions of the time called for an heir to the British throne to marry a woman who at least appeared to be virginal’, Sally writes.
‘In 1980 – more than a decade after the sexual revolution had started – [Charles] was hemmed in by the royal custom of marrying a virgin, or at least a woman who seemed virginal,’ she continues.
‘He was forced, in effect, to rob the cradle... the 12-year gap between Charles and Diana was essentially unbridgeable.
‘They had no intellectual connections, few mutual friends, no interests in common and none of the shared life experiences he would have had with a contemporary.
‘Although Camilla had the same limited upper-class education, she was on Charles’ wavelength – absorbed as he was by hunting and other country pursuits, at home in the same social circle – in a way Diana could never be.’
On his wedding night to Diana, Sally writes that Charles cried himself to sleep, upset he’d married a woman he didn’t love.
The book makes it clear Camilla was Charles’ one true love, and paints an unhappy picture of married life with Diana.
Sally writes that Diana would hit Charles over the head when he knelt to pray by their bed each night – and continue to verbally abuse him during his prayers.
She also claims the princess taunted him that he would ‘never be King’ during their furious rows at Kensington Palace – gibes that brought a lot of sadness to Charles.
The book has been met with criticism from Diana fans, who are demanding that the late princess be left to rest in peace, as well as opposition from senior royals.
‘This book is doing no-one any favours,’ a palace insider says.
‘It’s driven Charles and Camilla to the edge. Neither of them wanted their dirty laundry aired, and Charles thinks it makes him look like a weak, spineless man. He hates it.’
‘Charles is sick of it all and just wants out... He just wants to live in peace’