What Charles Did to Diana Was Pathetic—And Everyone Knew It

Описание: A lot of people will tell you Charles and Camilla's story is a love story. Star-crossed lovers kept apart by circumstance. Romantic, even.

Let's call it what it actually was.

A married man cheating on his wife while she struggled alone in a palace that never wanted her. And everyone knew it. The staff knew. The protection officers knew. The aristocratic friends who hosted their country house weekends knew. For years, the only people who didn't officially know were you and me—the public paying for the whole operation.

So here's what I want to do. I want to lay out the facts. Specific dates. Direct quotes. The actual timeline. And then I want you to decide whether "love story" is really the right word for what happened.

Charles met Camilla Shand in 1970 or early 1971, depending on which account you trust. Most sources place it at a polo field in Windsor Great Park. She was confident, funny, aristocratic. And she made the first move with a line that tells you everything about how this would end: "My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress. So how about it?"

She wasn't joking. Her great-grandmother was Alice Keppel, the famous mistress of King Edward VII. In one sentence, Camilla had established what she might one day become. History repeating itself. Just with phone taps this time.

Charles was smitten immediately. Here was a woman who didn't treat him like a prince to be handled carefully. She teased him. She challenged him. They started dating.

But here's where it gets complicated. Charles had to serve eight months in the Royal Navy. When he came back in 1973, Camilla had gotten engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles, a cavalry officer she'd known for years. They married in July 1973. Charles attended the wedding and looked, by multiple accounts, visibly despondent.

Now. The question that haunts this entire story is whether Charles simply lost her through bad timing—or whether the palace actively pushed her away. According to biographer Jonathan Dimbleby, who was granted extensive access to Charles for his 1994 authorized biography, Lord Mountbatten's influence in steering Charles away from Camilla was substantial. Mountbatten allegedly believed she wasn't suitable as a royal bride. The future king needed someone with an "unblemished reputation."