Camilla may be ‘angry’ Harry’s next target
Fears that Duke may use autobiography to say ‘unkind things’ about Duchess of Cornwall
‘I’m sure he will say some unkind things about her, or try to make her a “baddie”, but that doesn’t mean it’s real’
WHEN the Duke of Sussex paid a brief visit to his father and stepmother at Windsor Castle this month, it was said to be a friendly affair that left the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall pleased to catch up.
Following a page-turning biography in which an author claimed, “Harry can’t stand Camilla, he doesn’t want Camilla to be Queen”, it was just the moment to smooth over old wounds for a new era of cross-atlantic calm.
But that short encounter has done little to quell fears that the Duke is to turn his sights on the Duchess in his next round of media revelations.
The Duke, whose autobiography is released in the autumn, “needs a new target and she [the Duchess] will do”, said one friend. “I’m sure he will say some unkind things about her, or try to make her a ‘baddie’, but that doesn’t mean it’s real.”
Of reports that the Duke will not return to Britain for his father’s future coronation, they added: “If the strategy is to create drama, this creates drama.”
Clarence House has this week firmly denied a report in Private Eye that a “red line” has been drawn by Prince Harry, who allegedly said he has “no intention” of attending the coronation of a future King Charles if he is crowned side-byside with Queen Camilla.
Sources pointed out that while news that the Duchess will one day be known as Queen was a surprise to members of the public, it would not be a shock to a Prince who would have been party to palace thoughts on the matter since his father remarried in 2005.
A spokesman for the Sussexes declined to comment, and has not yet confirmed whether the Duke and Duchess will return to Britain for the Platinum Jubilee.
The relationship between the Duchess and her younger stepson has become an unexpected talking point in recent weeks, after Tina Brown’s Palace Papers depicted a long history of resentment from Prince Harry that had left him “very angry” that she will one day be “Queen Camilla”.
In fact, said sources, their relations have not always been difficult, with the young Prince Harry more likely to act as “ice-breaker” to smooth over their meetings with his father and brother.
One characterised the Prince’s approach to her as “acceptance, occasional pangs of guilt, and ambivalence”.
The Duchess of Cornwall was the first member of the Royal family to invite Meghan Markle to lunch, after she moved to Britain.
But her relationship with the Duke is said to have worsened after his public criticism of the Prince of Wales.
As the Duke spoke more about his mother’s memory, one source speculated that his thoughts on the Duchess, too, had hardened.
Towards the end of his time in the Royal family before moving to California, another claimed that the Duke of Sussex had tended to ignore the Duchess’s presence in private despite several warm public appearances together.
The Duke’s autobiography is expected to detail his memories of Diana, Princess of Wales, including the unhappy end to his parents’ marriage.
It is due to be published in October. Investitures will return to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday for the first time since the pandemic.
The Queen, who is now based at Windsor Castle, will not be performing them herself, but will entrust the first to the Duke of Cambridge.