From what we’ve seen so far of the leaked excerpts from Prince Harry’s Spare, there’s no love lost between Harry and his stepmother, the now queen consort Camilla. Now, Harry isn’t really ripping into Camilla, but he’s talking about how he and William both had major qualms about their father’s relationship with Camilla, how they both considered her to be a snake, how Camilla waged PR campaigns to marry Charles and throw his sons under the bus. Much of which we already knew/assumed, and I can’t wait to read the whole book to see how Harry weaves in the Camilla stories. For now, this one takes the cake: when Camilla moved into Clarence House, she immediately converted Harry’s old room into her closet.
In Prince Harry’s forthcoming memoir, “Spare,” out Tuesday, the royal recalls the time Camilla Parker Bowles (now the Queen Consort) allegedly converted his bedroom at Clarence House in London into her own personal dressing room as soon as he moved out.
“I tried not to care. But especially the first time I saw it, I cared,” the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex wrote.
A similar incident is mentioned in Tina Brown’s book “The Palace Papers” — although curiously, Brown wrote that it was Harry’s old bedroom at King Charles III’s country home, Highgrove House, that underwent the transition from bedroom to closet.
Camilla is such a cow. Is Clarence House really that cramped for space that Camilla *needed* to convert Harry’s room? If there’s one thing we know about Camilla, it’s that she’s a petty, manipulative cow. This was Camilla way of “punishing” Harry for something (existing).
One thing I hope Harry clarifies in Spare is his evolving living situation pre-Meghan, pre-Nottingham Cottage. Because it definitely feels like Harry was forced to bum around between St. James’s Palace, Clarence House and NottCott and he rarely felt like he actually had one place which was actually “his.” They probably would have (and did) put him in the servant’s quarters. Once again, that man now owns a mansion in Montecito. He’s never going back.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN, Cover Images.
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- The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex arrive for the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, on what would have been her 60th birthday. Picture date: Thursday July 1, 2021. .,Image: 619024523, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 12: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall during The Oldie Luncheon, in celebration of her 75th Birthday at National Liberal Club on July 12, 2022 in London, England.,Image: 706844548, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- ST. AUSTELL, CORNWALL – JULY 19: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall signs the visitors book during a visit to Charlestown School on July 19, 2022 in St. Austell, Cornwall. The Duchess of Cornwall is patron of Silver Stories, a charity that arranges for children to read over the phone to older members of the community who may be isolated or vulnerable. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall are on a 3-day visit to the southwestern region to celebrate the Prince of Wales’ 70th year as the Duke of Cornwall.,Image: 708303052, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 22: Camilla, Queen Consort during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on November 22, 2022 in London, England. This is the first state visit hosted by the UK with King Charles III as monarch, and the first state visit here by a South African leader since 2010.,Image: 739545057, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- 09-03-2020 Commonwealth Day Celebrations Westminster Abbey 2020
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- Camilla Duchess of Cornwall at The Oldie Luncheon, in celebration of her 75th Birthday at National Liberal Club. Featuring: Camilla Duchess of Cornwall Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 12 Jul 2022 Credit: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- Camilla, Queen Consort, Patron of the Poppy Factory, during a visit to the Field of Remembrance, in its 94th year, at Westminster Abbey in London, ahead of Armistice Day. Featuring: Camilla, Queen Consort Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 10 Nov 2022 Credit: Henry Nicholls/PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
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- Royal Ascot 2018 – Day 1 Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, meghan markle, Meghan Markle Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 18 Jun 2018 Credit: David Sims/WENN.com
She did it on purpose to hurt Harry since she is most like Diana. You know what they say about the company you keep and Charles keeps some nasty company. That gross, ugly duo were made for each other. That this woman victimized Diana and later her sons is disgusting, that the ugly, petty cow has been rewarded for it is another tragedy.
You are spot on! I am so glad he is done with the whole lot of these evil people
Not having your own space, especially as an adult DOES hurt. Having your own home is a sign of independence. That you’re finally an adult. It’s a great feeling. So, him basically bumming around for decades and basically given shit locations like Nott Cott, probably chipped away at him.
As far as the closet thing goes, it IS cruel. It’s like saying you’re no longer welcome. I don’t live with my parents anymore, but they still have a room for me when I stay over. They even named it after me. They have a room for each of their children.
Not Cott seems to be designated as the house for young royals. William and Kate lived there when they first got married, as did Eugenie and her husband.
Eugenie and Jack lived in Ivy Cottage when they married in October 2018. Harry and Meghan were still living in Nottingham Cottage at the time. Ivy Cottage was actually bigger than Nottingham.
It seems like Harry’s living situation was an afterthought and not a concern for anyone in his family once he became an adult. The lack of care for him is obvious. No wonder Harry preferred life in the military. It’s amazing to me that Harry’s biological family expects him to prioritize them over the family he created for himself when no one has ever prioritized Harry.
This:
“Harry’s biological family expects him to prioritize them over the family he created for himself when no one has ever prioritized Harry.”
That’s exactly what they expect. And are SHOCKED he didn’t stay there and take it.
Camilla is a living example of Coco Chanel’s quote – “At 50, you get the face you deserve”.
My husband and I are moving to another state. Our first order of business is to finish the basement so our 3 college aged children have nice rooms to come home to. The kitchen and bathrooms need work, but our first priority is for our kids. I don’t want them to ever feel unwelcome. It is their home, too.
From an internet stranger, thank you for doing this for your children.
You are great Jenna.
You and your husband sound like loving and caring parents. It’s sad that more parents aren’t.
That’s the thing. Even after you leave home you still want to know your bedroom is still there. It is a comfort thing. It might not be rational, but it is real. I can imagine Harry feeling rudderless as he his place as the spare was shoved in his face time and time again.
@Snuffles Agree!
The lack of a comfortable living space impacts your mental health and sense of wellbeing. On the H&M episode covering the wedding, it shows H at NottCott dressed in his uniform. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there was barely any furniture and big plastic tub of what I assumed were his belongings. So glad they’ve got that Montecito thang going on now!
William and Kate also lived in Notts Cottage in their early years of marriage so I don’t see why it’s so terrible it’s where Harry lived as a single man and the first year of his marriage whilst waiting for Frogmore Cottage to be renovated.
My abusive family turned my bedroom into something else the day I went away to college, so that when I returned home on breaks, I was sleeping as an unwanted guest. This story checks out. Abusers always doing everything they can to make it known that they are in control and how they really feel about you.
That is absolutely the truth. Cowmilla did it to unsettle her prey, so he would always feel on the wrong foot when visiting his former home. I’m so happy Harry is giving the BRF hell in the form of a truthful gaze that calls out their games and shows them as the ick they are. What a slimy putrid bunch.
Some of it is perspective. When you family has that much space available, I guess you do assume that your childhood bedroom (or similar space) will remain “yours.” That’s a luxury a lot of people don’t have. My family certainly didn’t – the bedroom I shared with my sister became entirely her room the day after I left for college – it was a small room to begin with and she’s 5 years younger than I am. No 13 year old is keeping a shrine to their older sister when they have the option of doing anything else. That said, the Windsors have access to enough real estate that turning a childhood bedroom into a closet seems completely unnecessary and more than a little spiteful.
Also, considering that Clarence House and Highgrove must have many other available rooms makes this seem even more deliberate. Camilla is such a trashy piece of work. Harry burning everything down with his book seems more justified with every revelation.
Is that an american thing? Or depending on the space available? My mother coverted my brothers bedroom the day he move moved out into her office (her old office was a coverted cupboard) and mine into a guestroom. And I never felt unwelcome. But our flat was’t big enough to waste space that was mostly unused.
C Rex places are definintly big enough for Harrys Bedroom and a closet, this reeks of making Harry unwelcome, not a sensible solution based on lack of space.
I’m an American and I think it’s a weird thing to be insulted by in and of itself. You don’t live there anymore. It’s not your room anymore. They can do what they want, especially if space is limited.
But as you say, it’s likely that C&C had the space for her clothes elsewhere. Who knows. It could have been no harm intended, but any situation involving Camilla will always be prickly given the history, and that is totally understandable.
I don’t quite get it, either. A friend’s bedroom got turned into her mother’s sewing room when she left for college. My mom moved my brother & herself to a two-bedroom place after I’d been gone about a year. My mom was only just recently-divorced at that time & did what worked best for her financially. On the other hand, good gad! These royals have gazillions of really grand places & they couldn’t find one lousy room that Harry could call his own? Now that is cold.
Im pretty sure there was a guest room somewhere in there that could have been converted to a closet. Witch-btch-monster-in-law-chuckie’s bride had it all planned out so that the youngest one, unmarried, the powerless spare would feel unwelcome and it was a success. She probably howled with pleasure. Charles is a fool, unable to protect and care for his children.
CH actually isn’t that big. It’s been used for soup,es and widows like the queen mum. I can see it being converted. Especially because those old houses have NO closet space. I think if it had been highgrove it would’ve been worse. Harry didn’t grow up at CH, it was never his childhood home. He did at KP and Highgrove. CH came to be Charles’s residence after the queen mother died in 2001.if Tina B had been right that would’ve been much more devastating.
It also smells of Camilla marking territory and showing the boys, Harry especially, who had the upper hand after they made their concerns clear to Charles.
Wow he really is going to tell everything! Do it, Harry! Burn it all those bit@hes down!
Yes he is telling everything and we are loving it! Aren’t there many rooms in the palace to make a walk in closet other than Harry’s room? Harry grew up there and he is a royal by birth. Cowzilla was clearly out of line to have done that. I guess home wrecking worked for her.
I sometimes click around on fancy houses for fun. They usually have floor plans. It’s surprising how super expensive older homes will have less available space than your average McMansion, even though they look huge from the outside.
But, yes this was petty. I remember going home for Christmas and discovering my bedroom was freezing. I checked the thermostat and told my parents about it. “Oh, we keep the heat turned off there because nobody goes back there.” No apologies, no embarrassment, not even a hurry to turn it back on. And they wonder why I’m low contact now. I just come back so depressed from visits home (which they clearly enjoy). I get it, Harry.
Jeez this is so petty and vindictive, did she really have a shortage of rooms?
She is a nasty old piece and I hope all those years of paid PR are going to come undone.
I suspect that she lacked storage space in the same way as the British royal family lacked enough money to support Meghan as a working royal; hence, why they suggested that she keep working as a royal.
I mean that’s a classic dick move on Camz’ part. Taking over the space where Charles’ son used to be, literally. I’m sure she knew they didn’t want their father to marry her and she staked her claim on absolutely everything. God, what a terrible family. She fits right in.
Charles could have said no. He wanted Harry out as much as she did.
you’re right, he could have. they’re both petty, vindictive, and cruel.
no wonder they couldn’t stand Meghan. she empowered Harry, and helped him shift his mindset and free himself from the trap. it’s amazing he got out. they were all stacking the deck against him as hard as they could.
Not only did Chuck want his son out, it seems he never wanted him in, in the first place. It is widely known that upon seeing Henry at the maternity ward, the doting dad said, “Aw, God, it’s a boy!” That’s when Diana realized Baby Henry was Charles’ arch disappointment, not his son.
Later on in life, Prince Harry’s free spirit and rebelliousness proved to be too much of a reminder of Diana’s ways for Charles to ever really bond with him. Henry has always been the unloved, and the word SPARE also conveys that meaning.
So much for the spin saying she never wanted anything
Jenna! 🫣😱🙈🙉🙊
Clear message, isn’t it. “Don’t come back.”
A high school friend had something similar happen when he went to college. That itself probably wasn’t a huge thing, but it was a tangible illustration of how unwelcome he was in his parents’ home, his former home.
In this case, in a household with likely many other options? Given the already awful history she had elbowing members of Charles’/Harry’s family (ie Diana) in a family and Firm where brooches and what colors you where and where a fork is placed on the table are purposeful and meaningful acts? Yeah that’s a shady, purposeful move to send a message there is no “room” for Harry in C/C’s world
When a friend of my son’s went home for Thanksgiving break during her freshman year she had to sleep on the couch because her bedroom was now an exercise room. I was appalled!
Eh, my mom did this when we all went to college or moved out. My sister’s bedroom became the den/office almost immediately, my one brother’s room became the guest room, my other brother’s room was another guest room, I think? Maybe the sewing room? My room she didn’t touch bc she didn’t “need it” lol.
I think it all depends on family dynamics bc none of us ever felt unwelcome in my parents house and we all lived there for some period of time after we graduated college, so our rooms became “ours” again.
Here, though, with these specific dynamics, it seems very cruel and very designed to make sure Harry knew he was no longer welcome.
Similar story here. We all shared bedrooms, so the younger siblings took over the spaces when the older ones left for college. Because “the girls room” was bigger than “the boys room”, it became the guest room as soon as my sister left for college. Once my youngest brother left, that became Dad’s office. None of us seemed to mind very much – we all floated through the house in the years after we graduated college or between college and grad school. We all lived in “the guest room” at some point, but none of us were at home at the same time.
But yeah, this just seems cruel for the sake of being nasty.
Same here. When I moved out my bedroom became my mom’s sewing room. My brother’s room became the official guest room. I didn’t think anything of it, my mom always wanted a sewing room, I didn’t feel slighted or unwanted.
The day my son finished college and officially moved out as an adult I started stripping his room and turned it into an office. I was working out of my house and I needed the space. He was fine with it. He didn’t move far.
does Harry say if a room for Willy was kept and it was just his that was converted to a closet ?
Willy is the heir, so I think we can safely assume that his room or suite was untouched and he was always welcome.
Apparently William had a room there. Camilla moved into Clarence House and William would go there on weekends and saw Camilla and invited her to tea.
My god she is so gross. It is absurd how petty she is and how Charles does nothing. It’s like he enjoys watching her be an evil, racist a-hole.
The Mansion that they used for filming in Montecito was not theirs and is now for sale for something like $33M.
As much as I wanted to see inside their place, it’s probably for the best so that bad actors can’t put together info enough for breaking in.
Plus, Camilla has always had her whole other estate (Ray Mill) if she needed more room for herself. But I’m not surprised even a little bit that she did it, and that Charles approved it. They’ve both shown us exactly who they are.
I recall Charles also arranged for Camilla s father to move into Clarence house some years before he married camilla
There are probably far too many people who let their new spouses treat their children from former relationships like dirt. It’s just sad and strange to see it happen so publicly, with anyone advising Charles either not telling him how bad it looks or him ignoring everyone telling him.
I do wonder what it is about Camilla in particular and Charles’ psychological makeup that he will do so much for her. Maybe it’s as simple as she’s a bad person, and he’s a bad person, and they find fulfillment being bad people together.
They deserve each other.
@Tessa Sorry, I accidentally replied to you when I meant to make a separate comment.
Charles is quite pathetic that he can’t stand up to her. Freud would’ve had a field day with those two. Camilla’s is almost a, well, a mummy-figure to him in a very unhealthy kind of way. Apologies to anyone eating.
Yeesh.
Was Clarence House a typo? I think Highgrove House was his childhood home. That would cause more hurt.
Camilla is such a c-u-next-Thursday ..
Oh just like dogs who pee on the poles or car tyres to mark their territory….
I apologise to everyone for comparing the sweet dogs to this… ridiculous creature.
She likely converted his room in both locations.
My goodness, must this woman follow every step out the wicked stepmother playbook?
I’m waiting to find out when she forbade Harry from going to a ball. I feel like it’s got to have happened.
These people are vindictive abusive bullies.
Harry has been trying to escape for AGES.
I believe Camilla probably dislikes both William and Harry because they are the product of Diana and Charles. Even if those two were unhappily together. They are still their sons. However, I think she dislikes Harry in particular because he has his mother’s spirit and essence. Whereas William is tolerable because he is so like his father.
Ultimately, she probably dislikes and punishes anything associated to Diana.
She also has to be on the right side of William bc should she ever become a Dowager Queen, she will need Williams protection.
Camilla has always played the long game, this is why her recent associations with Morgan and Clarkson are terrifying. The intent is clear to destroy Meghan.
As you’ve said, Flower, Camilla has played the long game. I doubt that Camilla would have any interest in Queen-ing in the absence of Charles. My guess is that for multiple reasons, she’s prudently kept her Ray Mill home, and sorted out her finances to ensure that she can continue to live there indefinitely if she needs to do so: to avoid needing protection— or anything else — from William.
Remember how for the past several months we had been getting all those odd rota rat stories about the BRF being worried about what Harry might say about Camilla? And how we were confused at first because how did Camilla play into things? Well, just as many here suspected, the BRF knew how nasty Camilla had been and they were trying to get ahead of the story. These people always tell on themselves.
Wow! Camilla really was that cliched Step Mother who resents the children from the previous marriage. She kept Ray Mill and stays at that house most of time and Clarence House already has dressing rooms and multiple bedrooms. Converting Harry’s bedroom was a CHOICE with a clear message.
Its also so typical of that class. When Diana’s father Earl Spencer died her brother immediately kicked out the current wife and wouldn’t even let her pack. When QE2 died its very obvious certain family members raided her jewelry box the same day and Kate and Will started using her old home Windsor castle like it was their own home. These people like visible demonstrations of newly acquired status.
I don’t think converting an adult child’s bedroom into something else is in and of itself unwelcoming or wrong. It depends on the circumstances, how much space you have, etc. So long as the child knows they are welcome and have the emotional support of the family and parents, that’s enough.
But in this case we are talking about a very spacious house. She could have found another place to stash her clothes.
Also, Camilla was his stepmother, not his mother. The former mistress moving into what had been Diana’s home, and Harry’s. She should have been more sensitive to his feelings and tread more carefully. But what do you expect from her? She tramples people all the time. It’s her MO.
This story is giving the term “red-haired stepchild” a whole new life for me.
Diana and Charles never lived in Clarence House when they were married. Charles moved there when Harry was 17 and it was Charles London residence. He also had Highgrove in central England where the boys had lived as their country family home and a large house in Kensington Palace as their London home.
Seems like some of us commenting are leaving out the dynamic about this woman having set up their mom, briefed against her for a decade, and then moves into their family home and takes over his bedroom immediately after he’s left home.
That’s not the same as loving parents using your old bedroom for whatever. To know a step a parent loathes you and loathes your dead mother and is only there because she harassed your dead mother and then she takes your bedroom, idk. That seems pretty pointedly crappy to me.
Diana and Charles never lived in Clarence House during their marriage so it was not the family home of Charles, Diana, William and Harry.
It was definitely Clarence House b/c Camilla moved into Highgrove in the 80’s.
Camilla could not move into highgrove in the eighties since she was still married and so was Charles. That said she did spend weekends there with Charles and in the late eighties played hostess to Charles at highgrove. Diana of course had no say in the matter.
Yeah, this was meant to send a message to Harry that as Diana’s son, he no longer was welcome.
Photos of the forever-young Diana must haunt the hell out of Camilla. I’m sure she didn’t like Harry around reminding her that she’d never be as loved or lovely as Diana was.
(And we don’t have a large house, but my kids will always have rooms here — in their house.)
Not sure whether this story is about Highgrove or Clarence House. The queen mother lived at Clarence house until she died in 2002. Charles has been turning Highgrove into his “true” home since before Harry was born. Harry graduated from Eton in 2003 and then took a gap year. Charles and Camilla moved into Clarence House in 2003 and married in April 2005. Harry joined the military and entered Sandhurst in May 2005.
Highgrove is a country house with 9 bedrooms. Camilla’s private residence has 6 bedrooms and it’s only 15 minutes away. Clarence house has 5 bedrooms in London, 90 miles away. If this story is about Clarence House then it may have made more sense to dedicate one of the 5 bedrooms to Camilla’s full-time use and to put Harry in the guest room when he came home on leave. Like a normal family in a normal sized house might do when a kid goes off to college. That might have stung a bit but it would be very different than Camilla displacing him from his childhood bedroom. If the story is about Highgrove then it makes Camilla look cartoonishly evil.
It was Clarence House that Harry is referring to when he says Camilla turned his room into a dress in closet when he moved out age 28.
She should have turned the room into an incinerator instead, to burn those ugly clothes she wears.
I just checked some dates. Harry moved into Not Cot in 2013. Obviously, he needed to stay somewhere before when he was on leave from the military. When I checked on CH, it said that KFC, Fails and Harry lived there. So, I think this MAY be talking about 2005 when the consort moved in after the marriage. That’s 8 years before Harry moved into a home of his own. He retired from the military in 2015.
Charles moved into his London residence Clarence House with Camilla in 2003 when Harry was already 17 and at boarding school. Charles also lived at other houses during the year. When Harry left Clarence House and Camilla had converted his bedroom into a closet he was 28. If Harry had moved out at 18 and it had been his childhood home for most of his life then I could see that being a bit hurtful if there was space, but doing it when Harry was 28 and hadn’t grown up there from childhood hardly seems a terrible thing to do. Also Harry knew he was financially secure and had many homes he could live in which he did.