Queen Consort Camilla was “hurt” by Prince Harry’s comments in his book, one of her closest friends has revealed. The Duke of Sussex called his stepmother “dangerous” and a “villain” in his memoir.
Fiona, Marchioness of Lansdowne, one of Camilla’s official companions, has publicly spoken about the Queen Consort for the first time in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Harry also said in his autobiography, which was published in January, that Camilla had leaked stories to the media to improve her public image.
He accused her of “sacrificing him” to bolster her reputation, and additionally claimed that the press had been briefed about his wife Meghan Markle by palace insiders.
Prince Harry will see his stepmother for the first time since his explosive memoir and Netflix documentary series at the King’s Coronation on May 6.
Read more: Camilla urged to uphold Queen’s ‘final wish’ and keep Consort title
While Meghan and his children Archie and Lilibet will remain in Montecito, California, there are concerns that the ceremony could be an awkward one due to frustrations in the Royal Family following Harry’s recent outbursts.
In Spare, the Duke wrote about Camilla: “I have complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
He also called her a “wicked stepmother”, and wrote of how he and brother William pleaded with Charles not to marry her.
Harry also described Camilla as “dangerous” and a “villain”, who was so desperate to improve her public image that she left “bodies in the street”.
An inside source told The Sunday Times of the Queen Consort’s reaction: “It was not stamping of feet or gnashing of teeth – it was much more of an eye-roll response.”
Lady Lansdowne said in her interview with the paper: “Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts. But she doesn’t let it get to her.
“Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down – least said, soonest mended.’”
