It is not uncommon for a spouse to have disagreements with their in-laws from time to time. Being part of the royal family doesn’t exempt you from this rule. While Kate Middleton has always seemed to get along well with her father-in-law, Prince Charles, having a strong familial relationship with his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, was something that did not come naturally at first.
When Parker Bowles first married into the royal family, she had her own set of controversies that seemed to follow her around, and many people in the UK did not like the Duchess of Cornwall very much. But, like her or not, she was still Prince William and Prince Harry’s stepmother. This meant that she was now able to have a say in their lives and could voice her opinion when and if she thought they were making a wrong decision.
One decision of Prince William’s that she did not agree with was his choice to marry Middleton. So, what was it about Middleton that Parker Bowles did not like? Here is what we know.
What did Camilla Parker Bowles think about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship?
It is unclear precisely what Parker Bowles thought of Middleton when she first met her. Being that Prince William was in college and had a lot of girls chasing after him at the time, she probably didn’t think much about Middleton when she first met her. However, once she realized that Middleton was more than just one of Prince William’s flings, she reportedly had a lot of opinions about the Duchess of Cambridge.
According to Express UK, Christopher Anderson, who wrote the book Game of Crowns, suggest that Parker Bowles believed that because Middleton came from a working-class family of coal miners and flight attendants, Middleton was “too common” to ever be considered to be a royal.
Before Prince Charles married Princess Diana, he had dated Parker Bowles. But it is rumored that his family was against the relationship because, at the time, Parker Bowles was considered to also be “too common.” It was not only her social status that was the problem: the royal family had also felt that Parker Bowles was too promiscuous to ever date the future king.
Being that Parker Bowles has already had to deal with being unfairly judged by the royal family, it seems ironic that she would now scrutinize Middleton for almost the same reasons. However, Anderson says that many people have always perceived Parker Bowles to be “a bit of a snob” and carry herself with a certain level of arrogance. He wrote: “[Camilla] has always thought of herself as the heiress to Alice Keppel, her great-grandmother, who was the mistress of Edward VII.”
Was Camilla Parker Bowles the reason why Kate Middleton and Prince William briefly broke up?
When Prince William announced that he and Middleton had broken up, the world was shocked. At the time, everyone had just thought that they were young and needed to take a quick break so that they could find out who they were individually before they could think about moving forward as a couple.
However, Anderson says that Parker Bowles was, in fact, behind it all. According to Anderson, Parker Bowles was putting pressure on her husband to urge Prince William to break things off with Middleton. According to Anderson: “I was told at the time of the breakup, and later on as well, that Camilla basically whispered in Charles’ ear that it was really time to make – to force – William to make a decision one way or another.”
It was reported that it was his father’s ultimatum that made him decide to break up with Middleton. However, he soon had a change of heart and they got back together a few months later.
What is Camilla Parker Bowles relationship like with Kate Middleton?
After Middleton and Prince William got engaged, it seemed as if Parker Bowles was finally ready to accept Middleton as a member of her family. In fact, Royal Insider, Andrew Morton had said that before Middleton and Prince William got married, Parker Bowles took the now-Duchess of Cambridge out to lunch to help giver tips and advice on how to deal with being a member of the royal family.
It has been rumored that today, Parker Bowles has a closer relationship with Meghan Markle than she does with Middleton; however, Middleton and Parker Bowles’ relationship does seem to be much better than it was 12 years ago.
