People remember Princess Diana fondly for all her dedication to her numerous charities. The world also remembers her comment to Martin Bashir in the now-discredited interview on Panorama where she says, “there were three in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” The “third wheel,” so to speak, is Camilla, now the Duchess of Cornwall. The pair were love rivals as both were involved with Charles, Prince of Wales. One was his wife. The other was a former girlfriend, with whom he was still very much in love.
The 90s was a difficult period for Charles and Diana as they separated in the early part of the decade. Both went on record about their marriage, with the future king admitting that he did commit adultery with Camilla. These interviews prompted Her Majesty The Queen to step in and suggest a divorce. As a result, the Princess of Wales lost her styling of Her Royal Highness.
Eight years after Diana’s death in a Parisian car crash, Charles married Camilla in a civil ceremony, and she was christened as the Duchess of Cornwall. While she is entitled to the Princess of Wales title, she chose not to use it. She did this out of respect for its previous holder, Diana, and the mother of her new husband’s sons.
While all this might seem to be in the past, people have not forgotten the betrayal that Charles conflicted upon Diana. However, she wasn’t perfect either. She had affairs during the marriage as she felt unloved by her husband. What’s more, is people seem to forget that upon the Prince and Princess of Wales’ divorce, there was no chance of Diana ever becoming consort.
Diana Was Never Going To Be “Queen Diana”
Diana might’ve come off as a shy girl who knew little about royal life, but she was not stupid. She was well aware that Charles was still in love with Camilla.
When Diana and Charles separated and later divorced, the chance of Diana ever becoming queen consort disappeared. Also, it was not like Charles and Camilla got married straight after she died. That would’ve been a low blow to William and Harry.
How do we know that Diana would never be Charles’ consort? She said so herself. During the Panorama interview we mentioned earlier, Bashir asks her if she would be queen, and she responds: “No, I don’t.” When asked why she thought that, she said that the institution didn’t like that she led by the heart and loved the people. She added that someone had to show the public they were loved by the royals.
Now, discredit the interview all you want, but it reveals how far gone the Wales marriage was by then. Do we believe Diana was coerced into talking with Martin Bashir? Yes. We’ve always thought that something was off with the interview. We did not realise how deep it went and how far Bashir had gone to acquire it.
Moving over to Camilla, it was evident from the moment the engagement was announced, that she would be Queen or Princess Consort, whichever was chosen. No one could’ve denied this, not even Diana when she was alive. She knew deep down that her ex-husband would’ve gone back to his mistress eventually. There was also no chance of Diana and Charles getting back together. So, why should a divorced spouse of the Prince of Wales even be considered in a conversation of Camilla becoming queen consort after the Princess of Wales has been dead 25 years?
Camilla Has Kept Her Head Down
The fallout from the Wales divorce caused the public to turn on Prince Charles due to his treatment of his former wife. Upon the announcement that Camilla was back in the royal fold, the people were not happy and became volatile towards her and Charles. Many didn’t like that a former mistress of the Prince of Wales would someday sit at his side.
However, Camilla has kept her head down and gotten on with her work. Moreover, this is how she has become widely respected. A minority of people show more positivity towards her now than they did when the affair happened. Though, some won’t let go of the past. Diana would not want people to hold resentment on her behalf. Just because sitting on the throne wasn’t her destiny doesn’t mean someone else can’t do so.
Every royal woman has faced criticism during their tenure in the family. The Queen. Catherine. Sophie. Beatrice. Eugenie. They’ve managed to weather the storm, so to speak. They did not talk to the media, nor did they do interviews with journalists desperate for their big break.
Camilla has kept her head down. That should be admired, not criticised. She deserves this honour as she has worked incredibly hard over almost twenty years to prove herself.
