'She Expects To Be Heard': Queen Camilla's Feud With Kate Middleton Reaching A Boiling Point As Royal Wives Butt Heads Before King Charles' Coronation, Sources Claim
With the coronation of King Charles III on the horizon, Queen Consort Camilla has become determined to take control, RadarOnline.com has learned.
An insider said, as a result, a feud that has been simmering between Camilla and Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, for 20 years has combusted.
“Camilla has been sharing her strong opinions with Charles and others in royal circles for years,” said an insider. “Now that she’s finally queen consort, she expects to be heard.”
In his bombshell memoir, Spare, Prince Harry alleged that for decades the royal family has used back channels to leak favorable — and not so favorable — stories in the press. Camilla, who was spotted at a recent holiday lunch with bigwigs from the U.K. tabloids, is no exception, he asserted.
Years back, when Middleton was first becoming a part of the family, the 75-year-old who was still trying to overcome her rep as the Other Woman who destroyed Charles’ fairy-tale marriage to Diana, “reveled in Kate’s misery. She didn’t think Kate had the backbone to be a royal and her opinion was freely shared and picked up by the media.”
The shade goes both ways, noted an insider. “There are some in royal circles who get the impression Kate and Camilla do try to one-up each other in public by swaying public opinion on their side,” said the source. While Camilla has been accused of feeding stories to the press to make herself look good at the expense of others, said the insider, “no one thinks Kate would stoop that low, but she is popular with the press.”
It may all come to a head at the May 6 coronation. “Operation Golden Orb,” as the historic ceremony is code-named, has already generated controversy. Although Charles, 74, has promised the event will be smaller in scale than his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation, there already has been criticism over the crown jewels historically used in the event.
The Imperial State Crown, worn by the monarch, and the Queen Mother’s coronation crown, which Camilla is eyeing, both contain stones that former British colonies now claim were stolen.
Then there is the big question of whether Charles will invite his rouge royal son, Harry, and his wife, Meghan. There, Camilla and Kate may share some common ground. “Charles wants Harry and Meghan to attend because Harry is still his son,” said the insider. “William and Camilla think it’s a bad idea.”