Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare made headlines in papers worldwide. The Duke accused his royal family of everything from hitting him to not welcoming Meghan the way he wanted them to and even called out several family members. That included Queen Camilla, who Harry called “wicked stepmother.”
None of the royal family members have commented on Harry’s claims. However, reports have suggested that King Charles, Prince William, and Princess Kate were furious about the accusations against them.
As is tradition, the Royal Ascot was held in June. The legendary horse racing course has a unique royal box specially built for the royals and other prominent invited guests. But at this year’s Ascot, the behavior in the royal box reportedly included gossip over Harry and Meghan. And it appears Camilla still holds a grudge against her stepson, Harry.
When Harry and Meghan left the UK, the relationship between them and the royal family was more than strained, to say the least. Camilla, of course, was among the family members who had reasons to dislike Harry’s book, Spare, before it was released and the things he had said in it.
Harry claimed Camilla was “dangerous”
Before Harry’s book was released, he was interviewed by both British and US networks, where he spoke on several subjects – including how angry he’s been over the treatment Meghan received, as well as the death of his mother.
During an interview with 60 Minutes, Harry continued to take swings at the Royal Family. Camilla, the Queen Consort, came under heavy fire.
Harry accused Camilla of leaking stories about the family to the British media, which he claimed was a part of her campaign to “rehabilitate her image.”
Moreover, Harry revealed that he and his brother, Prince William, had asked their father, King Charles, not to marry Camilla. However, in the end, they changed their minds.
“We didn’t think it was necessary, we thought that it was gonna cause more harm than good and that if he was now with his person. That – surely that’s enough,” Harry told 60 Minutes. “We wanted him to be happy. And we saw how happy he was with her.”
Harry added that Camilla was “dangerous” as she had been cast as a “villain” by the British media because she had a part in Charles and Diana’s collapsed marriage.
“That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press. And there was open willingness on both sides to trade of information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her, on the way to being Queen Consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the street because of that,” Harry said.
“If you are led to believe, as a member of the family, that being on the front page, having positive headlines, positive stories written about you, is going to improve your reputation or increase the chances of you being accepted as monarch by the British public, then that’s what you’re gonna do.”
Camilla branded “evil stepmother”
In another interview with Good Morning America, Harry said he hasn’t spoken with his stepmother in a long time.
“I love every member of my family, despite the differences, so when I see her, we’re perfectly pleasant with each other,” he said.
“She’s my stepmother. I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother. I see someone who married into this institution and has done everything that she can to improve her own reputation and her own image, for her own sake.”
But Harry’s book didn’t quite tell the same story. In Spare, the Duke reflected on how difficult it was to adjust to his father’s marriage with Camilla. In one passage, Harry remembered wondering if Camilla would be cruel to him “like all the wicked stepmothers in storybooks.” He added that his brother Prince William had “long harbored suspicions about the Other Woman.”
Prince Harry was about to turn 14 when his mother, Princess Diana, passed away in Paris. He and William had to walk behind her coffin as she was laid to rest, a decision they criticized later in life.
With her passing, the brothers were left without a loving mother who had always made sure to raise them just like normal children. They got a stepmother in Camilla, though she and Harry clashed.
Harry, of course, missed his mother dearly. When he met Camilla for the first time, it was said to have been “awkward and tense.”
“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,” a palace source told royal biographer Penny Junor, author of Prince William: Born to be King.
“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.”
Camilla was “furious” about Harry’s allegations
It wasn’t a surprise that reports surrounding the royals would appear after Harry’s accusations and claims against his family members. William and Kate were said to have been furious over what Harry said, and a US Weekly source claimed that King Charles was “distraught.” According to the Mirror, that was also one reason why Charles decided to evict Harry and Meghan from their Frogmore Cottage home.
“He’s angry and outraged that Harry’s aired so many embarrassing and damaging assertions, and it’s put him in a terrible position with Camilla, of course, now that she’s been dragged into the equation,” the US Weekly report claimed.
“That’s really crossed the line in more ways than one, but there are so many egregious comments and revelations from Harry that his father doesn’t know where to start. He has hope that, in time, the dust will settle and Harry will soften his heart toward his family—at least he hopes so. But he’s not going to push or apologize,”
Queen Camilla also turned out to be furious about Prince Harry’s claims that she was dangerous and leaked stories about the royals.
“I know from various people who are close to her [that] she was pretty furious with what was being said about her,” True Royalty TV co-founder Nick Bullen, who’s covered the royals for over 20 years, claimed in an interview with Fox in May. “But she is not someone that is going to be phoning Harry or Meghan and shouting down on the phone at them.
Bullen added, “She just moves on. I don’t think she’s necessarily going to forgive, and I don’t think she’s necessarily going to forget. But it is not something that she dwells on, I’m told. She plays a much longer game, and she plays with a much straighter bat. She was, I’m told, annoyed by what was said but moved on pretty quickly from what was said.”
Royal visit at the Ascot Racecourse
Gossip will always nestle itself into social gatherings and friendships. It doesn’t matter if it’s at work, a bar, or home; gossip finds its way into conversations.
Even though one might be in a social gathering with the royal family themselves, it turns out that gossip can be widely spread in those social gatherings as well.
This time, it was at the legendary Royal Ascot – and it included gossip on Camilla, Harry, and Meghan.
The Royal Ascot at the Ascot Racecourse – located in Ascot, Berkshire, west of Greater London – includes a whole week of horse racing. As every year, the royals turned out in force. King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and several other senior royals enjoyed the many days of racing at the legendary racecourse.
The Royal Ascot might be an unfamiliar concept for people outside of the UK. So let’s take a look at what it really is.
It was founded by Queen Anne in 1711 and has, as described on the Royal UK website, “received the support of a further twelve monarchs.” The annual Ascot race meetings officially became a royal week in 1911, and ever since then, Royal Family members have enjoyed watching races that often include horses they themselves have bred.
The Royal Ascot is held every year in June. King Charles and Queen Camilla have been interested in horses for many years, and it’s not so strange that horses have always been present in their lives. The now-late Queen Elizabeth II had a huge passion for horses, only missing the Ascot races once. That occurred last year, as she was not feeling well and was forced to watch proceedings from her home in Windsor.
Gossip about Harry and Meghan in the royal enclosure
Over five days, around 300,000 visitors attended the famous race meeting. Besides the presence of the royals, one of the most iconic things about Ascot is the exceptional dress code, including the very finest clothing and extraordinary hats. The strict dress code also applies to the Royal Family – and this year was no different.
The Ascot experience wouldn’t be the same without the unique outfits. The Ascot includes four so-called “enclosures” from which to take in the races; The Royal Enclosure, The Queen Anne Enclosure, The Village Enclosure, and The Windsor Enclosure.
The Royal Enclosure requires one either to be a member or a member’s guest – and a recommendation letter is needed even to be considered for membership.
Safe to say, not everyone is invited to the royal enclosure, though that doesn’t mean that gossip can’t take place there.
As reported by Page Six, the big gossip of the year was about two people who weren’t there; Harry and Meghan. And people were delighted that they weren’t in attendance.
“The gossip in the royal enclosure was how happy everyone was that Meghan and Harry weren’t here. Camilla’s friends say she remains furious at Harry and Meghan,” the source, who attended Ascot, said.
“Camilla tells Charles they make her uncomfortable, and Charles loves her unconditionally — he made her queen and will choose her well-being over them every time.”
The source concluded, “Camilla knows not to go too far, as Charles still loves Harry. Everyone blames Meghan for the entire mess. Today at Ascot proved the people love her, and she won’t risk ruining it by engaging with Harry and Meghan.”
It’s not the first time royal family members or friends have praised Harry and Meghan’s non-presence.
“‘I hope they’ll be seated in Iceland”
Before it was decided that only Harry was to attend his father’s coronation in May, a family friend stated that if attending, the Duke and Duchess were to be given the “cold shoulder” by many relatives.
“One said to me, ‘I hope they’ll be seated in Iceland,’” the friend of the family said.
Moreover, the fact that Harry left the coronation straight after the ceremony in Westminster Abbey and did not attend the lunch with his family was reportedly received with joy.
According to the Daily Mail, royal family members “breathed a sigh of relief” that Harry had left and didn’t show up for the coronation lunch.
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