Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to Britain has triggered an unexpected realignment inside the royal household. Royal author Andrew Lownie reports that Queen Camilla is firmly allied with Princess Kate, urging King Charles to establish firm boundaries with the Sussexes as family tensions over future roles mount.
Queen Camilla and Princess Kate Form a United Front
A notable dynamic is shaping up within the British monarchy as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle settle back into life in the UK. According to royal author Andrew Lownie, Queen Camilla is standing firmly with Kate Middleton while encouraging King Charles to draw clear lines regarding the Sussexes, as reported by the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail has contacted Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace for comment. While Harry famously offered a critical and very unflattering portrayal of Camilla in his ghostwritten memoir Spare and subsequent promotional interviews—questioning her connection with the press and alleging a campaign to rehabilitate her public image—Camilla and Princess Kate have grown increasingly close in recent years. Their connection has also been noticed publicly. During Remembrance Sunday last year, body language expert Judi James observed a warm chat between the two women, per the Daily Mail. Camilla has also been seen sharing friendly moments with the Middleton family, though a long-held claim suggests there has been some bitterness between the current Queen and the future Queen over their positions in the royal family due to Kate being far more popular than Camilla.
Concerns Over a Return to Partial Royal Roles
The return of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex—who touched down in Birmingham this week for what is expected to be an extended stay in the UK, where their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have been enrolled in school—has stirred immediate anxieties inside royal circles. Even though it has been suggested the King only learnt about their plans three days before the news broke, Mr Lownie backed the theory of an Establishment plot to bring the Sussexes back home after Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals and moved stateside in 2020.
The King and the Prince of Wales have long been aware of the Sussexes' plan to return to Britain, but it has suited their purposes to distance themselves whilst public opinion is tested,
Mr Lownie told this newspaper, adding that the King and Prince William were reportedly aware of the move six months in advance. Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate are concerned if Harry and Meghan will eventually demand the half-in, half-out model that they initially quit the Royal Family over, while living in a non-royal residence outside London. Such an arrangement threatens the possibility of two competing courts, prompting the senior royals to push for definitive limits. Lownie alleged that the Queen has been stiffening the resolve of the King to establish clear boundaries for the couple.
Family Dissension and Past Royal Friction
Tensions surrounding the Sussex household arrive on top of ongoing criticism regarding how the Palace has handled other family controversies. Lownie noted that there remains a great deal of family dissension about the way the King has handled the Sussex problem on top of the 'too little, too late' strategy on the disgraced former prince Andrew and his family.
Before the princess became a part of the royal family, the now queen gave her clear advice and a warning about her future. Prince William and Kate Middleton go way back, having met while studying at St Andrews University. The couple went through many challenges, not least Kate being hounded in the press as she became William’s girlfriend—an experience with some similarities to Camilla’s decades-long connection to the royal family that began when King Charles was married to Princess Diana. On April 29, 2011, William and Kate tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in London, but years earlier in 2007, it seemed their love story had ended when they temporarily broke up. Rumors spread quickly that William felt the fun had disappeared from their relationship, leaving Kate desperately upset as she had already pictured how they would marry. Shortly after the breakup, William allegedly roamed London nightclubs and saw several other girls, leaving Kate angry and feeling humiliated and that he was cheapening her image. It was the first such warning she had dished out over the course of their four-and-a-half-year relationship,
a report read, as quoted by Express, noting that harsh words were exchanged as Kate told William he was making her look bad.
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