Queen Elizabeth II reportedly attempted to break up King Charles and Camilla

In his latest book, The King: The Life of Charles, Christopher Andersen told Newsweek’s Royal Report podcast that Queen Elizabeth never liked King Charles' wife, Camilla.

Queen Elizabeth allegedly wanted 'nothing to do with' Camilla

Charles’s infidelity to Princess Diana sparked outrage among the British public and embarrassed the Royal Family. Andersen told the podcast hosts that many people blamed Camilla for the death of Princess Diana. He said she became ‘the most hated person in Britain, if not the world’.

In her infamous Panorama interview, Princess Diana said she went to the Queen for help concerning Charles's affair. The Queen supposedly replied:

I don’t know what you should do. Charles is hopeless.

Read more ⋙ Queen Camilla has an interesting link to Princess Anne, and it's through her ex-husband

The Royal biographer explains that when Charles and Camilla made their relationship public after the tragic death of Princess Diana, the Queen faced the insurmountable task of ‘selling Britain on Camilla’.

Queen Elizabeth II reportedly took an instant dislike to Camilla. It is said that Her Majesty called her soon-to-be daughter-in-law a ‘wicked woman’, stating that she wanted ‘nothing to do with her’.

Per Andersen, Camilla was also detested by the Queen Mother. He claims:

Because of Camilla, the monarchy was kind of brought to the brink of destruction.

According to South China Morning Post, the Queen even went as far as enlisting the help of Michael Peat, a loyal Royal servant. His job was to convince the then-Prince Charles to break up with Camilla.

Rehabilitating Camilla's image

After the death of the 'People’s Princess', Buckingham Palace supposedly launched ‘Operation PB’ in the hopes of rehabilitating Camilla’s image.

Part of the operation was for Camilla to only ever be known as 'Princess Consort'. But Andersen believes that King Charles loved her too much to ‘insult her in that way’. According to the biographer, Charles lobbied the Queen for nearly 20 years. The Queen reportedly wouldn’t budge.

However, this wasn’t because the Queen disliked her but more a matter of public opinion. Queen Elizabeth allegedly had warmed up to her daughter-in-law over the years. Per a source quoted by US Magazine, Camilla grew on the late monarch, especially during the pandemic. According to them:

Through her [Camilla] dedication and loyalty to The Firm, she has more than proved that she has what it takes.

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South China Morning Post writes that despite the Queen’s absence at his eldest son’s second wedding, it was a turning point in Camilla and Queen Elizabeth’s relationship. From then on, they were seen at public events together and appeared to bond over common interests.

The publication also notes that Prince Harry and Prince William had warmed to Camilla, agreeing that she wasn’t a ‘wicked stepmother’ but a ‘wonderful woman’.

Sources used:

Newsweek: Queen Elizabeth 'Always Detested' Camilla Parker Bowles—Charles Biographer

US Magazine: Duchess Camilla Has ‘Grown On’ Queen Elizabeth II After ‘Challenging’ Start to Their Relationship

South China Morning Post: How Camilla won over Queen Elizabeth: the Duchess of Cornwall’s journey from ‘wicked woman’ and Princess Diana’s archrival to the British royal family’s future queen consort

Metro: Prince Charles ‘told Diana it was his right to have a mistress’