Prince Harry is now largely estranged from the royal family – and there was one comment he made that especially angered his father, King Charles, leading to him taking decisive action
Harry made a cruel two-word comment that ‘crossed the line’ with his father(Image: BACKGRID)
The ‘ultimate act of disrespect’ saw Prince Harry booted out of Frogmore Cottage by the King, who was said to be especially angered by a two-word comment his son reportedly made about Queen Camilla.
The Duke of Sussex received his marching orders in January 2023 – days after the publication of his explosive memoir Spare. The book made a number of bombshell claims – from alleging that there was a physical fight between Harry and Prince William, to details of Harry’s drug use and the feud between Meghan and Princess Kate.
But Harry’s biggest target appeared to be Queen Camilla. There were more than 60 mentions of Camilla in the book – and the Duke made no attempt to hide his contempt for ‘the Other Woman’.
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Harry made a number of scathing comments about Camilla in his book(Image: Pool AP/ Martin Meissner)
Sources suggested the King was incandescent over Harry’s attacks on his wife, including his description of her as a “wicked stepmother”. Palace insiders claimed that Charles moved quickly after receiving a briefing from advisers outlining revelations from the explosive book, and decided to evict Harry and Meghan.
“It was the last straw. Harry was well aware how Camilla would be a red line for his father and he crossed with flagrant disregard anyway,” they told the Express. “The King felt without a doubt it crossed a line – it was the ultimate act of disrespect.”
In his book, Harry claimed that he and his brother William begged Charles not to marry Camilla amid fears she would be a ‘wicked stepmother’. “I had complex feelings about gaining a step parent who, I believed, had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar,” he wrote. “In a funny way I even wanted Camilla to be happy. Maybe she’d be less dangerous if she was happy?”
Lady Lansdowne, 68, who is godmother to Camilla’s daughter Laura Lopes, later said the Queen was understandably upset by the comments. She told The Sunday Times: “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.'”
Harry also wrote unfavourably about his first meeting with Camilla in his biography. “Willy went first. He’d bumped into the Other Woman, once, at the palace, but now he was formally summoned from Eton for a high-stakes private meeting.”
He then went on to compare his own introduction to Camilla to ‘getting an injection’. “My turn came next. I told myself: No big deal. Just like getting an injection. Close your eyes, over before you know it.” Harry further claimed that while Camilla had “made an effort” with William, she appeared “bored” when they met, claiming it was ‘pure formality’ as he was not the heir or a major obstacle to the union.
Harry also claims that Camilla converted his bedroom into her own personal dressing room as soon as he moved out of their former residence, Clarence House, when he was 28. And during an appearance on 60 Minutes, Harry described Camilla as “dangerous” because of the connections she has with members of the media. “There was open willingness on both sides to trade information.
“And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on the way to being Queen Consort, there was going to be people or bodies left in the street,” he told host Anderson Cooper. He also described his stepmother as “the villain”.