Prince William & Harry were ‘completely blindsided’ by this ‘Queen Camilla’ thing?

It’s been less than a month since Queen Elizabeth II used her Accession Day message to embiggen Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. QEII wrote (“wrote”) that when the time comes, Camilla should be named Queen Consort alongside King Charles. Charles had been lobbying for that for seventeen years, and I believe Charles only got his way because of a blatant quid pro quo with his mother. In exchange for the Queen’s blessing for Queen Consort Camilla, he authorized the Queen to pay off Prince Andrew’s rape victim. It’s that simple. What followed the Queen’s statement was a lot of lukewarm support for Camilla, including royal commentators insisting that Prince William was vaguely supportive. Charles reportedly told Harry and William before the announcement, but Harry still hasn’t released a statement of support (nor does it look like he will ever publicly support Queen Camilla).

Not that any of that matters. As one royal insider told People: “There will always be some backlash but you can’t please everybody all the time. There will be people from certain constituencies who might complain.” Certain constituencies = Diana’s sons? So says Us Weekly’s go-to royal commentator Christopher Andersen.

Not everyone is on board. Following many ups and downs within the royal family, author Christopher Andersen addressed new issues that may be causing a divide for Prince Harry and Prince William with other family members.

“It’s just whether or not they can get over this bad feeling. Then, of course, Queen [Elizabeth II]‘s health and these other considerations are there. I don’t think it helped with the queen announcing that Duchess Camilla will be Queen Consort and that’s another issue,” Andersen exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, February 22, while promoting his book Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan.

The royal author claimed that the decision is “driving a wedge” in the royal family, adding, “I can tell you right now that the boys were completely blindsided by this.”

Earlier this month, the monarch, 95, announced her hope for Camilla, 74, to be given the title Queen Consort when Prince Charles takes the throne. According to Andersen, the queen’s son, 73, was “relentlessly” pushing for his wife to gain the title.

“Charles just wore her down on this too. I also think that since the death of Prince Philip, Charles has stepped up his effort to make it clear to the queen that he too needs [a partner],” he claimed, referring to Philip’s April 2021 passing. “If he’s going to reign, he’s going to need the support, the kind of support that she got from [her husband].”

[From Us Weekly]

Do you think Harry and William were “blindsided” by the Queen’s announcement? I do not, although I believe both brothers probably have mixed emotions and maybe even strongly negative feelings about it. I think Charles has exhausted both Harry and William with the “do you support Queen Camilla” question for years now. It’s been Charles’s permanent mission, to legitimize and codify Camilla’s position within the family. And Diana’s sons are like… jeez, give it a f–king rest. But yeah, I think William especially knew what was coming. William likely got something in return for his vague support too – that might even be why Charles is clearing the path for the Cambridges to move to Windsor.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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63 Responses to “Prince William & Harry were ‘completely blindsided’ by this ‘Queen Camilla’ thing?”

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  1. Cessily says:

    I think this woman has been the biggest downfall and cause of more scandals and problems within the BRF than we can even imagine and PC obsession for her has bolstered her brazenness.. I imagine she will be less likely to hide it now that she has secured her QC.

    • DCLite says:

      It’s funny if you start counting all the times people in this family have been “blindsided.” I can picture them all just constantly turning from side to side like in a windstorm, with whiplash from all the brand new information constantly being thrown at them!

      • Jan90067 says:

        lolololol WHAT a visual!! Fantastic!

      • Kilfanora says:

        Is anyone else as bored with the word “blindsided” as I am? God knows it’s a favoured media response but shows a poor grasp of grammar for journalists and broadcasters. May I suggest amazed, astounded, astonished, shocked, stunned, appalled, aghast as alternatives, for a starter?

      • Lucky Charm says:

        Like one of those inflatable people at car lots, lol! No wonder they don’t have time to do any work. They spend all their time just trying to stand up straight from everything that blindsides them!

      • HeatherC says:

        They seriously could all be a source for green energy. Weeny with his incandescent rages, and the rest of them could power their own wind farms with all their blindsided reactions…

      • Liz version 700 says:

        Dclite I have been fighting a migraine all morning and that visual gave me my first true laugh of the day lol.

    • teecee says:

      Nothing she’s done compares to Andrew’s (and probably Mountbatten’s) behavior. She’s gotten worse press, but that only reflects how carefully the British establishment protects its men, particularly the ones with royal blood.

      • Tessa says:

        Charles was not spared the criticism with liaisons with Camilla and the unfortunate Dale Tryon. Camilla IMO was protected by Charles friends and sympathizers like Penny Junor who slammed Diana . IMO Diana got less protection than Camilla in the media, plus after she passed on she could no longer defend herself. Camilla and Charles treated Diana badly and she was gaslighted. She (and Charles) did not do right by Diana to put it gently.

    • KFG says:

      Cams was only one of Charles’ mistresses. The issue was they weren’t as discreet as others and her husband had to divorce her. The Windsor clan have been close to pedos for 3 generations, nazi sympathizers, colonizers, and utter trash… Camilla isn’t the cause of anything, she’s just playing her role.

  2. Louise177 says:

    I don’t get the”Harry hasn’t made a statement” sentiment when nobody in the family has, including William. I don’t think they are mad but maybe bothered by it. I also think it’s weird that the media is acting like the memoir is about Camilla not Harry. I feel like talk about Camilla would be more about the effect she had on Diana not on Harry.

  3. Eurydice says:

    I think Harry’s pretty well divided from the family already.

  4. Amy Bee says:

    New rule…let’s stop referring to William, 39 and Harry 37, as ‘the boys’.

    As for what Andersen says, he has no idea what he’s talking about and he’s trying to promote his book. William has no choice but to accept Queen Camilla because that’s how the system works and he will need something from Charles later on. In fact, Charles and William probably had a quid pro quo too. Charles’ support for the smear campaign against Meghan and Harry in exchange for no objection to “Queen Camilla”. Harry’s probably accepted that Camilla was going to be Queen a long time ago too, as it doesn’t affect him in anyway and now he’s out of the system.

    • Lucky Charm says:

      @ Amy Bee – I’m not going to nitpick about “the boys”. My sisters and I are all in or nearing our 50’s, and my parents still refer to us as “the girls”. I think it’s a generational thing. And much quicker to say than individually naming them yet you still know who they’re talking about. 🙂

      • Amy Bee says:

        I think it’s ok if family members do it but not strangers and especially royal commentators and the press. There’s some weird ownership issues going on there.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      @ Amy Bee, I agree! Bitter Brother screamed and threw the usual temper tantrum until HE was gifted something in return!! Bitter Brother did the same thing with regards to his grandfathers funeral so that he could look “down” upon Harry, hence no military garb. This family doesn’t operate the same as other supportive, compassionate, loving, and caring families. There must be a massive carrot to ALL of the sticks that they use!!!

      PC wore his Mum down to the point that she gave in. Bitter Brother has been pulling this “act” for the last 37 years!!!

    • Tessa says:

      Charles is a rotten father to allow William to drive Harry out and put Camilla’s needs over his own son, daughter in law and two grandchildren.

  5. Big Dee says:

    So, if King Charles dies, Queen Camilla wouldn’t continue to reign, would she?

    Not a Brit so just wondering. I don’t think she’d be in the line of succession.

    • Amy Bee says:

      When Charles dies, William become King and Kate becomes Queen Consort. If Camilla is still alive she becomes the Dowager Queen Consort, I believe.

    • Nic919 says:

      Camilla would be the dowager Queen consort and William becomes king. Essentially she would be in the same position as the queen mother was once her husband died. So it really doesn’t change much of anything.

      • lanne says:

        She would be dowager Queen Consort, but not “Queen Mum”: Diana would have been Queen Mum if she outlived Charles.

      • Murphy says:

        She’d be in the same position as the Queen Mum but the words “Queen Mother” would not be in her title as dowager.

      • Amy Bee says:

        Queen Mother is not an official title. As the Queen and her mother had the same name, the Dowager Queen Consort was nicknamed Queen Mother to differentiate between the two. Diana, if she had stayed married to Charles would be the Dowager Queen Consort. As she was divorced and had she lived she would have been the Dowager Princess of Wales since she was allowed to keep her title.

      • The Recluse says:

        If they operated the way the monarchy tended to function back in the middle ages, Camilla would find herself stuffed in a convent as soon as Chuck kicked the bucket.

    • Princessk says:

      If Charles dies before Camilla, she won’t hang around and will quietly disappear from public life and live permanently in her own home, with all the comforts she desires.

      • jazzbaby1 says:

        If Chuckles dies first does William have the power to strip her of her titles and/or any property she might have inherited from Chuck?

    • Tessa says:

      Camilla would never reign no matter what. She would not be a monarch, but a consort. Prince Philip did not reign but he was Prince Consort to the monarch. She would be Dowager Queen if she outlives Charles.

  6. Merricat says:

    Lol, they are not “boys,” and they were no more “blindsided” than we were, which is not at all.

    • Jennifer says:

      Most of this whole thing should not be a genuine shock to anyone. The Queen publicly admitting it while still alive is the only “shocker.” Seems obvious for YEARS that was what would happen as soon as the body was cold, duh? Why would the “boys” be shocked? Also, it’s not like anyone can do anything about it. This isn’t Edward’s day.

    • North of Boston says:

      Exactly!

  7. Nic919 says:

    I don’t think Harry cares at this point. He’s got other stuff to focus on. William probably knew it was inevitable as well and I suspect he hasn’t been vocal about his displeasure in exchange for assistance with other things.

    • Mac says:

      Harry and William know how the monarchy works. I can see them shrugging off the announcement since it’s hardly news to them,

  8. Jan90067 says:

    That pic of her in the blue dress… *chef’s kiss*

    This tipsy, ol’ granny image, of supporting her “man” no matter what…nah… I will *never* buy that. I think Cowmilla is waaaaay shrewder and more manipulative than any of us give her credit for. And while for a while, I think she *was* content to run back to Ray Mill, for her own peace of mind. At this point, I’d bet anything she’s at the point of: “I put up with *all* of this shyte…I’m gettin’ the *real* title AND the crown out of this!!”

    This is part of that disgusting group of artisto “betters” that snickered, made faces at H&M’s wedding. She’s made snide remarks in the press, then smirked in the pic. And after the way she gaslit and tormented a young Diana?

    Yeah….I will NEVER like her.

    • LooneyTunes says:

      I click on the royal stories just for the passive aggressive pictures. LOL

    • dj says:

      💯 Some of us (me included) have a LONG memory!

    • Tessa says:

      Camilla is not a nice person. IMO. She did not support her first husband, the one she was married to for 22 years and had his children And she treated Diana with total contempt. I read about Queen Alexandra, and none of Edward VII’s mistresses were ever allowed to bad mouth her.

    • The Recluse says:

      All we have to do is look back at how she treated Diana, with Chuck’s complicity, to see what a nasty piece of work she is. It is really appalling to see how she has reaped the rewards for hers and Charles’ lack of ethics and pure self aggrandizement.

  9. Milly says:

    “If he’s going to reign, he’s going to need the support, the kind of support that she got from [her husband].” But… he was never elevated; left at Prince which he did grumble about a fair bit.

    • BendyWindy says:

      Prince Phillip could never be elevated to King, because a King rules over a Queen, and Elizabeth was a reigning queen. No one is allowed to out rank her.

      I believe Phillip had to renounce his princely titles from Greece in order to marry Elizabeth in the first place. I believe for awhile he had a really screwy title like HRH Sir Phillip something and he was made a prince again when he became Duke of Edinburgh. I’m to lazy to look it up though.

      I find the idea that a title determines whether or not and how you can support your spouse…quaint.

  10. Lady Digby says:

    I am sure both brothers were well aware of their father’s magnificent obsession with having Camiknickers crowned as his Queen.It is laughable to claim that ANYONE was blindsided by the announcement but it just underlined that Charles is in charge and calling the shots. Since Philip’s death the jockeying for position around the next tier has been revealing of power bids and manoeuvering over houses/titles and money. Harry and Meg made the right decision to leave and avoid the gunfight at the Mall over the division of goodies. What a family!!

  11. jferber says:

    Kaiser always chooses the best pics. The leatherface pic in the velvet blue dress. Divine.

  12. kelleybelle says:

    Behold the future queen consort. No thanks, hard pass.

  13. Becks1 says:

    Even if they didn’t know the Queen was going to mention it in her statement the way she did, they both had to know it was going to happen, whether announced now or announced when Charles was king. So I don’t know how blindsided they could have been.

  14. UNCDancer says:

    All of this says nothing good about the future king of England. He has been with this woman in one way or another for 50 years. Is he really so small, desperate, pathetic that this endorsement, this title matters this much? He is a grown-ass man badgering his aged mother and sons about legitimating the mistress he’s already married. Sad.

    • Tessa says:

      The thing is she was married to another man for 22 of those years and that man was the father of her only children. And Charles married someone else and was serious about other women and had numerous liaisons and another married mistress. Charles weaved this story of the Great Love Story to try to “justify” the way he behaved during his first marriage and before that. He was not interested in her enough to marry her pre her marriage to Parker Bowles. But he did make her his married mistress in the late seventies when her children were very young. And he also was involved with Dale Tryon. He NEEDS to name her Queen Consort to further his spin. But it was so ridiculous when her spin said she “NEVER wanted anything.” Of course she did IMO. Otherwise she would have turned him away and not become one of the Prince’s mistresses. Charles apparently feels this is necessary for her to have the title.

  15. Tatler says:

    Yes, they were obviously blindsided. There was nothing in the timing that made sense and I doubt Charles had the decency to contact Harry at least before the announcement. Should they have known he was working on it? Yes. Did they know how weakened Lizzy was and that an official announcement was coming? No I don’t believe they knew. I’m certain Harry at least did not.

  16. equality says:

    I challenge the author to list the statements PC or Cam have put out in support of H&M or congratulating them on anything outside the birth of children. So why should PH congratulate Cam?

  17. Rai says:

    How long havr Charles and Camilla been married at this point? She’s not exactly Jane Seymour, picking out her wedding dress as Anne Boylne is carted off the Tower Green. Whatever animosity either brother has with Camilla is well established within the family. I struggle to see how a title change would impact those dynamics.

    But the peasants must be given their bread and circuses so the royal rota must feed the hoards. Another reason I am personally glad Harry and Meghan got the hell outta dodge

  18. Jaded says:

    Harry’s merely doing what anyone would do when facing a family of malignant, manipulative narcissists, you go no contact. I know many of us have had to do this with family members, partners, people we *thought* were trustworthy but we found out the hard way they’re the exact opposite. When you disconnect from a narcissist it drives them crazy and they actually become more spiteful because they can’t bully you anymore, but it’s the healthiest thing to do in order to preserve your own sanity.

  19. girl_ninja says:

    Camilla and Charles are horrible people who tortured Diana. Even though Will gaslight his mom for future financial security doesn’t mean that he actually likes that woman. And though Harry has been kind to her, it’s more to do with him keeping the peace and him going his own way.

  20. Catherine says:

    This is the same author who claimed that Charles was the racist. He is now touting the soon to be released paperback version of his book I think. IMO. Someone tied to William is leaking to him and throwing Harry’s name in for clout. And all this talk about Harry not releasing a statement is unfair. No one else in that family has said anything why does it fall on Harry. So many people made a big deal about his appearance with Gareth Thomas a few days later. It was HIV testing week in the UK and him mentioning his mother was perfectly reasonable given the role she played in combating hateful attitudes towards people diagnosed with AIDS. When Charles and Camilla got married and Harry made those comments in support of Camilla. There was no fuss made about the fact that William said nothing.

    • Tessa says:

      I think Charles “suggested” that Harry make those comments. It was for his father’s benefit more than it was for Camilla’s. It was only one time and the rest of the time he spoke of his mother.

  21. Jay says:

    I find it notable that someone, somewhere thinks this “Queen Camilla” issue important enough and interesting enough, right now, to bring the story back to life. Do they really want us remembering the weird timing of QEII’s statement? It seems like an odd choice to revive all the speculation about her health, Charles’ soft regency, and the quid pro quo Andrew settlement.

    And, again, her title does not represent a change in the law, and the whole point of having the queen release that it was “her wish” that Camilla have this title was to make it a public fait accompli and put it behind them. There’s no need for William or any other member of the family to publicly support the move, that’s the whole point of having these dumb rules for monarchy. So why, again, draw attention to the lack of support in this article? If it’s coming from William, it feels like whining – but several weeks too late. Maybe his sullen “retweet” of the announcement was meant to garner sympathy or the attention of his father, but if so, it didn’t work.

    Now, maybe Charles is unhappy that despite all of his machinations, he didn’t make fetch happen. Well, tough – just ask TOB, he has been trying for years to get the public to call his wife “Kate”. It ain’t catching on. The average Brit is not going to call Camilla “queen” in conversation – but honestly, that’s a good thing, because the more they learn about and think about what exactly the monarchy is and it’s relevance to their lives, the more likely it is that Charles could be the last king.

    • Tessa says:

      Charles did not have to “suggest” that the Queen make that announcement. She would have been Queen Consort no matter what. And does he think that well his mother wants her so it’s OK? That is very naive of him since the “blessing” of the Queen may not carry that much weight with all.

  22. aftershocks says:

    ^^ Don’t you mean TOB has been trying to get people to stop calling his wife, ‘Kate’? When they were married, Wills and perhaps the grey men wanted her to be called ‘Catherine,’ instead. This, after she’d popularly been known as ‘Kate’ for more than 10 years. LOL! The name change ain’t happening for the media and the populace.

  23. Lorelei says:

    This makes no sense to me:

    “I also think that since the death of Prince Philip, Charles has stepped up his effort to make it clear to the queen that he too needs [a partner],” he claimed, referring to Philip’s April 2021 passing. “If he’s going to reign, he’s going to need the support, the kind of support that she got from [her husband].”

    So Camilla wouldn’t have been sufficiently supportive of Charles unless she was given the title? To say he “needs a partner” is absurd. He has one. She took on the role of supportive partner when she married him; what possible difference could a name change make? These people are inane.

    • Tessa says:

      Camilla reportedly spends time at Raymill and is not “supporting Charles” 24/7.

  24. NotSoSocialB says:

    That is a hilariously unflattering photo of the rottweiler.

  25. BendyWindy says:

    I mean it’s nice that she got her MIL’s blessing, but when Charles ascends, he doles out the titles. He doesn’t need permission. It’s her title by right of marriage.

    Also, I know that she will be Queen Consort, but surely they don’t intend to refer to her that way! HRH Queen Consort Camilla? That’s not precedent.

    Tangentially, if William is going to dump Catherine, he better do it before he’s invested as PoW, or he’ll be facing his own faux outrage that wife number two shouldn’t be called Queen.

    • Deeanna says:

      That Rottweiler photo continues to amaze!

      I heard a rumor that the clock-minder at Clarence House was heard to be complaining that for some heretofore unknown reason a problem has developed with all the various clocks. They keep stopping…