Queen Camilla didn’t just walk into the palace wearing a crown.
To millions, she walked in carrying baggage the monarchy still hasn’t managed to hide.
For some, she’s the loyal partner who stood by Charles through scandal, backlash, and time.
For others, she’s the woman who shattered the fairy tale, stepped over Diana’s broken heart, and was then polished, rebranded, and quietly moved onto the throne that Diana never lived long enough to claim.
And that’s the real problem: while the PR machine insists on “Queen Camilla,” a huge part of the world still sees the old story—and the old wounds.
Here’s why so many people still can’t forgive her.
1. The Affair That Broke the Fairy Tale
Camilla and Charles weren’t just a love story—they were an affair that unfolded while he was still married to Princess Diana.
When the truth fully emerged in the 1990s, the public didn’t see “two people in love.” They saw a wife humiliated on a global stage, a marriage collapsing in front of cameras, and a third person—Camilla—right in the middle of it.
For Diana fans, that’s the origin wound. Everything else Camilla does is filtered through that betrayal.
2. “There Were Three of Us in This Marriage”
Diana’s 1995 BBC interview turned suspicion into certainty.
“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
With one sentence, Diana named what everyone had sensed: Camilla wasn’t a rumor or a footnote; she was a central part of Diana’s pain. That line burned itself into public memory.
To this day, whenever people see Camilla standing beside Charles in a crown, they remember the young woman who said those words with tears in her eyes.
3. “Tampon-gate” — The Call No One Can Un-hear
In 1993, a private phone call between Charles and Camilla leaked.
What should have been an intimate, harmless conversation instead delivered one of the most cringe-inducing scandals in royal history.
Charles joked about wanting to be her tampon.
It was crude, bizarre, and absolutely not the kind of thing anyone wants to hear from a future king and his future queen. For many, it ripped away the mystique of royalty and replaced it with something seedy and embarrassing—and Camilla was right at the center.
4. Married to Charles’ Friend First
Before becoming Charles’ partner, Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles—who just happened to be a close friend of Charles.
So when the affair started, it wasn’t just wife, husband, and mistress. It was:
- A prince
- His lover
- Her husband
- And a tight social circle that knew, whispered, and looked away
To critics, it all felt like a small, privileged world where rules didn’t apply and loyalty was optional.
5. The Party-Girl Past
In the 1970s, Camilla was known as a fun, hard-living society girl—smoking, partying, and moving confidently through the upper-class London scene.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But when that same woman later steps into the role of queen—following a princess who was seen as fragile, emotional, and wounded—it creates a sharp contrast: carefree rebel vs. heartbroken fairytale bride.
For some, that contrast has never softened.
6. The Apology That Felt Too Late
Camilla didn’t rush to the microphones to apologize when Diana’s side of the story exploded. For years, she stayed largely silent.
Only after she had re-entered public life, after her image was being carefully repackaged, did she offer a sort of vague acknowledgment that she knew people had been hurt.
For many, that didn’t feel like remorse. It felt like damage control.
By then, the wound was deep—and the apology, critics say, was too little, too late.
7. From “Princess Consort” Promise… to Queen
When Charles and Camilla married in 2005, the palace bent over backwards to calm public anger. The line was clear:
She would be “Princess Consort,” not “Queen.”
Fast forward to 2022: after Queen Elizabeth’s blessing and Charles’s accession, Camilla is crowned Queen Consort, and now often simply styled “Queen Camilla.”
To Diana’s supporters, it felt like the goalposts had quietly moved. What had once been unthinkable—Camilla as queen—eventually just… happened.
It’s one of the biggest reasons some people feel the institution cares more about internal convenience than public trust.
8. The Feeling She’s Snubbed Diana’s Legacy
No one expected Camilla to lead Diana memorials. But many noticed how carefully distant she often seemed from anything tied to Diana’s legacy.
There’s:
- No warmth around Diana-focused moments
- No visible personal tributes
- A sense that the institution wants to “move on” from Diana, rather than honor her openly
Rightly or wrongly, that distance feeds a narrative: Camilla got the man, the role, and the crown—but not the grace to actively honor the woman whose life was shattered along the way.
9. Frosty Ties with William and Harry
It’s hard to picture Diana’s sons ever truly seeing Camilla as just a “normal stepmother.”
Their mother’s pain is tied to their father’s affair. That affair is tied to Camilla. It’s personal.
- William has been publicly polite and politically supportive—but rarely emotionally warm.
- Harry has gone further, calling Camilla “dangerous” in Spare and accusing her of trading stories to the press to boost her image.
Every time Harry speaks about palace leaks, media deals, or his mother’s suffering, Camilla’s name is pulled back into the storm.
10. The Crown’s “Villain Edit”
Netflix’s The Crown may be “fictionalized,” but for millions, it is their royal education.
And in that story?
Camilla is framed as the longtime love who hovered in the background while Diana crumbled. A woman always nearby, always available, always in Charles’ heart while his wife was left to fall apart alone.
Whether accurate or not, that version of Camilla has burned into pop culture—and it keeps her locked in the role of the “other woman,” even for people who never lived through the original scandals.
11. Charity Work That Feels Like Image Scrubbing
Camilla does support important causes: literacy, domestic violence, animal welfare, osteoporosis. On paper, it’s a solid portfolio.
But when you’re following Diana—who hugged AIDS patients when the world was terrified, and walked through active landmine zones—almost anything can look shallow by comparison.
Critics say Camilla’s work often feels safe, polished, and tightly managed. Whether fair or not, many view it as part of a long-term PR cleanup rather than deeply personal passion.
12. “Green” Talk, Luxury Lifestyle
Camilla and Charles speak out about climate, sustainability, and the environment.
At the same time, their lives include:
- Large estates
- Extensive travel
- Luxury events and wardrobes
For sceptics, this feels like classic “do as I say, not as I do.”
That kind of perceived hypocrisy doesn’t just hurt the cause—it hurts the person fronting it.
13. Shady Shadows Around Her Brother
Camilla’s late brother, Mark Shand, was admired for his conservation work—but also faced questions over charity finances and management.
There’s no evidence Camilla was involved in wrongdoing. But for a public already wary of her, even adjacent scandal reinforces suspicion:
“If the people around you are messy, what does that say about the world you move in?”
It all blends into a wider discomfort around money, access, and influence.
14. Trying to “Rewrite” the Story
One of the hardest accusations around Camilla isn’t about anything she did with Charles—it’s what some people believe she’s tried to do afterward: reshape the narrative.
There’s a growing feeling among Diana loyalists that the institution has:
- Softened Camilla’s image
- Reduced Diana’s centrality over time
- Tried to present Camilla as Charles’ “true soulmate” all along
To those who remember the 80s and 90s, that feels like gaslighting history.
15. Dodging “Princess of Wales”
When Camilla married Charles, she didn’t take the title “Princess of Wales,” even though technically it was hers.
Why? Because that title belonged, in the public mind, to Diana.
The choice was smart—but also revealing. It silently admitted what everyone already knew: some roles, some symbols, and some titles can never be worn by her without backlash. Even now, with the crown, there are lines she can’t cross.
16. A Cold Public Face
Where Diana was touch, tears, eye contact and emotion—Camilla is guarded, formal, often tightly controlled.
Some of that is personality. Some of it is survival. But in a world that has become used to authenticity, vulnerability, and heartfelt connection, that reserve reads as cold.
The result?
- People feel for Diana
- People admire Catherine
- People tolerate Camilla
But very few feel emotionally attached to her.
17. Opulence in Hard Times
Designer coats, heavy jewels, sparkling tiaras, luxury events—this is the royal brand. But when people are struggling with bills and prices, one figure in particular tends to draw criticism: the woman they still associate with scandal.
To critics, Camilla’s visible wealth feels less like tradition and more like tone-deafness. Especially when her journey to the crown was already controversial.
18. Silence on Royal Racism Allegations
When Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview raised allegations of racist comments within the family, the monarchy was rocked.
Camilla’s reaction? Publicly, almost nothing.
In a moment when many expected loud, clear condemnation of racism and visible support for inclusivity, her silence looked like indifference. For younger and more diverse audiences, that was one more reason not to warm to her.
So… Can People Ever Forgive Her?
Maybe, over time, history will soften. Maybe future generations will see Camilla less as “the other woman” and more as a complicated figure in a messy royal story.
But for now, one truth stands:
Diana’s ghost is still louder than Camilla’s crown.
As long as people remember the broken fairy tale—the tearful interviews, the lonely princess, the tragic tunnel in Paris—it will be hard for many to look at Camilla and see only a queen… and not the woman who, in their eyes, helped bring that story crashing down.
Leave a Reply