Prince Harry Reportedly Opted Not To Be In The Same Room As His 'Villain' Stepmother Camilla While Visiting His Father

Feb 26, 2024

King Charles III and Queen Camilla's relationship has definitely raised eyebrows over the years. The couple had an affair while Charles was still married to Princess Diana, and during the last few years of her life, it was reported that the alleged affair tormented the late princess. There was even an interview from 1995 where she references the affair to a young Prince William.

Then tragedy struck when Princess Diana passed away due to a car accident in 1996. Following this, Charles and Camilla began officially seeing each other two years after Princess Diana's death. Because of Diana's untimely passing, Charles did not want to overwhelm his family with the sudden inclusion of a new spouse. Harry and William were still minors when their mother passed, and Charles decided that it would be best to wait until they were adults to get married to Camilla.

Camilla and Charles finally got married in 2005, and the small, intimate ceremony was attended by his children as well as the late Queen Elizabeth and the late Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth II sadly passed away on Sept. 8, 2022, at her home in Balmoral Castle.

One major difference between Charles' second wife is that Camilla never went by the title of princess, despite Diana, his first wife, doing so. In fact, the reason why has something to do with Diana — Camilla paid her respect to Diana by opting to take on a different title. 

In 2024, King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer, and Prince Harry, who had been residing in the United States with his wife Meghan Markle, visited his ailing father. However, reportedly he preferred that his stepmother wasn't present in the room while he spoke to his father. Read on below to find out more about the interaction

Prince Harry has been direct about his feelings toward his stepmother, Queen Camilla, whom he dubbed the "other woman" in his parents' marriage. He mentioned in an interview with Anderson Cooper that his father, King Charles III’s second wife, “was the villain.”

“She was the villain. She was the third person in the marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image,” he told the journalist.

He also confirmed in the conversation that he and his brother, Prince William, both directly asked their father not to marry Camilla because both of them didn’t think it was necessary. However, their minds changed as both siblings realized that they wanted their father to be happy, so at the time, “it was okay.”

In 2024, the world was shocked when Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, but it was not announced what type of illness he had.

According to an article published by the Daily Mail in February 2024, Prince Harry traveled all the way from California to the United Kingdom for 11 hours with British Airways just to see his father, who had been receiving treatment for his health. King Charles reportedly called Harry personally to break the tragic news about his condition. The outlet noted that the Duke of Sussex was seen riding a Range Rover that took him to Clarence House where his father was resting after a treatment earlier that day.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said it was important that Harry show solidarity toward his father, given that his health condition was serious.

“I'm sure Harry will put aside the past right now for this serious issue,” he said. 

Prince Harry was not believed to have met with his brother, Prince William and Kate Middleton, who was also recovering from abdominal surgery at the time. It was also noted that the interaction between Prince Harry and his father only lasted for 45 minutes. Royal expert Jennie Bond said that this implied things had really become bad for the family.

“William has shown today that he has disowned Harry, he doesn't want to know him, and he probably doesn't even like him anymore. Harry is just not part of his life… That rift is so deep now, and that has been shown by Harry being here and them not meeting, so deep that I really do wonder if it can ever, ever be mended,” she said.

In addition, the king was reportedly not happy and was left “kicking his heels” as he waited for Harry to arrive because he delayed his trip to Norfolk, where he will continue to recover.

Days after, The Telegraph reported that Harry preferred not to be in the same room with Camilla as he and his father discussed his medical condition. It’s unclear what the father-and-son duo spoke about in their 45-minute meeting. Meanwhile, royal experts said the incident was a missed opportunity for him to extend an olive branch.

In a follow-up report by the Daily Mail, it was noted that Harry didn’t stay very long in the United Kingdom because 24 hours after he had a meeting with his father, he immediately left the country to go back to California.

What do you think of Prince Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles III and stepmother Queen Camilla? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.