A blended family! After Queen Camilla married King Charles III in April 2005, his two sons finally came up with the idea of having a stepmother.
While the king previously dated Camilla as a teenager, they ended up marrying other people. Charles, for his part, married Princess Diana in 1981 and welcomed sons prince william And Prince Harry in 1982 and 1984 respectively. Camilla was married to eight years earlier Andrew Parker Bowles. Camilla and Andrew also share two children: Tom Parker Bowles And Laura Lopez.
Charles and Camilla were later involved in an extramarital affair scandal. They each divorced in 1996 and later began publicly dating. When the former Prince of Wales was eager to propose to Camilla, both his sons were wary.
“Despite Willy and I urging him not to do it, Dad went ahead anyway. We pumped his hand, wished him well. No hard feelings,’ Harry asserted in his Reserve memoir, which was published in January 2023. “We recognized that he would finally be with the woman he loved, the woman he had always loved, the woman fate had intended for him in the first place. Whatever bitterness or sadness we felt about closing another loop in Mama’s story, we understood it didn’t matter.’
The Duke of Sussex and William’s mother, Diana, had previously claimed in multiple telling interviews that there were “three people” in her marriage, referring to Charles and Camilla’s affair. Diana finally died in a fatal car accident in August 1997 when Harry and William were 12 and 15 respectively.
The Prince of Wales and Harry eventually made peace with His Majesty’s union with the founder of the Reading Room, but they reportedly made it known that Camilla would not be a grandmother to their respective children. (William shares Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis with his wife, Princess Katewhile the BetterUp CIO and wife Megan Markle are proud parents of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.)
“William has made it clear that Camilla is his father’s wife, but not a step-grandmother to his children,” said royal biographer. Angela Levin claimed in her 2022 book, Camilla: from outcast to queen consort. “William and Harry were 23 and 20 respectively when Camilla officially became their stepmother in 2005. She was more of a friendly adult who they occasionally saw at royal gatherings. She was trying to be encouraging rather than influential.”
Camilla has also had a cordial relationship with Kate, whom the Duke of Cambridge married in April 2011. Rural life cover story in October 2022, she knew exactly who the photographer should be.
“[Camilla] immediately replied, “Oh, I’d really like Catherine to do it.” I spent the next three or four minutes desperately racking my brain trying to think of a professional photographer named Catherine,” the magazine’s editor said. Mark Hagen, revealed in the issue. Then suddenly I understood what she meant – one of the most amazing things that can happen. I found it one of the easier things to nod to.
Both the Duchess of Cornwall and William have continued to support Camilla after she and Charles were crowned the monarchs of England at their coronation in May 2023. (Charles had taken the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022.)
Sign up for Us Weekly’s free, daily newsletter and never miss the latest news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!
Scroll below to revisit William and Kate’s relationship with Camilla over the years: