Prince Harry's relationship with Camilla as he 'begged' Charles not to marry her

05 January 2023 , 16:04

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A look at Camilla and Prince Harry's relationship as new allegations surface in his memoir (Image: UK Press via Getty Images)

Prince Harry's highly-anticipated tell-all memoir Spare reveals that he reportedly begged his father King Charles not to marry Queen Consort Camilla.

In a leaked extract of the new book Spare, which will be published next week, Harry says he and Prince William pleaded with their father not to marry Camilla - but told him that they would welcome her into the family.

It is claimed the royal brothers did approve of their stepmother but they were not keen on their father marrying for a second time following the death of their mother Princess Diana, reported the Sun.

Meanwhile, Harry also alleges that the Queen Consort leaked details of a meeting she had with William to the press, while he talks about his first meeting with her.

Amid the leak of the book, we've taken a look at Harry and Camilla's relationship - from their first introduction to easing 'tensions'.

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'Hard' beginnings

Sources claim Harry found it "hard" at first (PA)

Although Charles and Camilla went public with their relationship in the early 2000s - several years after the death of Princess Diana - his children were not pictured with her in public until a year later.

When Harry was initially introduced to Camilla as a teenager, their encounter was said to be ­awkward and tense.

He was only 13, missing his mum terribly and was not in a position to defend her memory.

In the book Prince William: Born to be King, a palace source tells royal biographer Penny Junor: "I think the relationship between them all is warm now but if I'm honest, it wasn't then. I think they found it hard.

The book is out next week (Penguin Random House)

"To be fair to Camilla, she never tried to be mummy but she was the 'other woman' and she was there and taking daddy's time."

Meanwhile, in The Palace Papers by royal author and ex-Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, she writes that Harry "unnerved Camilla".

According to The Telegraph, the book quotes a courtier as saying: "When the younger boy was eventually prevailed upon to be in the presence of Mrs Parker Bowles, he unnerved her with long silences and smouldering, resentful stares."

'Show of unity'

It is claimed that tensions have eased over the years (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

As time went on, Harry and William did appear to develop a warmer relationship with Camilla.

During an interview to mark his 21st birthday in 2005, Harry said that he and his brother "loved her to bits" and he also publicly thanked her for making their father "very, very happy".

However, a friend said: "Although tensions have eased between the two of them over the years, it was more for a show of unity than a close relationship.

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"There were big problems at the start but as Harry and his brother William aged and matured, things got better and they can now co-exist as adults.

"They were never close with her and they still aren't."

Silence on Queen's wish

The late Queen stood between her son and grandson on the Buckingham Palace balcony (AFP via Getty Images)

On the eve of her Platinum Jubilee last February, the late Queen Elizabeth II released a bombshell statement, saying it was her "sincere wish" that Camilla would be Queen Consort when Charles took to the throne.

But the fact Harry didn't say a word about the announcement "spoke volumes" at the time, according to one pal.

Author of The Diana Chronicles, Tina Brown told The Telegraph: "William has accepted Camilla in terms of what she means to his father. He's been grown-up about it. 'My father loves this woman, I can’t fight it, so I won't.'

"Harry, on the other hand, can't stand Camilla, he doesn't want Camilla to be queen, and he's very angry that it's happening. He has not made his peace with it and he probably never will."

Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have so-far declined to comment on the leaked claims.

This story is based off a translated version of Prince Harry’s book Spare - which is set to be published in the UK on January 10 and is available to purchase on Amazon here.

Saffron Otter