Prince William pledges his allegiance to King Charles
In a rare display of affection, Prince William kisses his father King Charles on the cheek after pledging his allegiance. (Video courtesy of: Reuters)
Queen Camilla has "further alienated" Prince Harry from the royal family, according to a royal expert.
Camilla has used Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's status as non-working royals to continue the fractured relationship between Charles and his son, Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," told Fox News Digital.
"The king hates being caught in the middle, but when push comes to shove, he will always choose Camilla," Andersen said. "The queen has used this nonsensical 'But they're no longer working royals' argument to further alienate the king from his second son. I think every time the king considers handing Harry an olive branch, Camilla makes sure Charles is reminded of all the terrible things written about her in 'Spare.'
"So, in the long run, I think things look pretty bleak as far as mending the relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the royals is concerned," he added. "Charles seems to be drifting more and more in the direction of just severing those ties, and that will become easier as more and more time passes. Out of sight ..."
Queen Camilla has "further alienated" King Charles and Prince Harry, a royal expert told Fox News Digital. (Getty Images)
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Prince Harry and Prince William's relationship with Camilla has been "frosty" since the beginning, and Harry's words about the queen in his memoir didn't help, Andersen claimed.
"Camilla was understandably livid over Harry's characterization of her as a 'villain' in his book. I think it also came as a total shock to Camilla to learn that both William and Harry begged their father not to marry her," Andersen said. "Charles has been sitting on that little tidbit for 18 years.
"If the late Queen Elizabeth had known how strongly William and Harry felt about it, perhaps she would not have reluctantly agreed to let Charles and Camilla marry in 2005."
But he says the new queen most likely wouldn't have done anything differently if she'd known.
"If Camilla had known that the boys were so vehemently opposed to the marriage — well, knowing how much she wanted to be Charles' wife, she probably would have done it anyway," Andersen said.
Prince Harry and Prince William's relationship with Camilla has always been "frosty," a royal expert told Fox News Digital. (Aaron Chown)
Queen Camilla probably would have still married King Charles even if she knew that Prince William and Prince Harry opposed the union, according to a royal expert. (Chris Jackson)
Camilla had no interest in becoming a "second mother" to Prince Harry and Prince William, according to Andersen.
"The relationship between Camilla and her stepsons has always been frosty. Let's get real. How could it be otherwise?" The royal author claimed Camilla "famously stole" Charles from the late Princess Diana, mother of Prince William and Prince Harry.
"To add salt to the wounds, Camilla, the granddaughter of a baron, thought Kate was too common to marry WilliaM and opposed Harry's marriage to Meghan," he added.
Queen Camilla thought Kate Middleton was "too common" to marry Prince William. (Getty Images)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's marriage was also opposed by Camilla. (Chris Jackson)
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Prince Harry and Markle stepped back from their roles as senior royals in January 2020, creating tension within the family. Since then, Markle and Harry have participated in a handful of high-profile interviews — one with Oprah Winfrey and a docuseries with Netflix — where they spoke out about the royal family.
In the Netflix series, Harry and Markle said the royals did nothing to help combat the onslaught of negative press that the couple constantly faced.
Despite the tension, Prince Harry attended King Charles' coronation May 6 which reportedly upset Camilla.
Harry did not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony and went straight to the airport following the coronation. His wife Markle stayed behind in California with their two children.
Another royal expert claimed Queen Camilla "couldn't have cared less" about Prince Harry's appearance at the coronation.
"Camilla was surrounded by her loved ones and was nervous about the big day as she is typically shy," Kinsey Schofield, host of the "To Di For Daily" podcast, told Fox News Digital. "She went through the motions of the day carefully with that choreography in her head. Nothing else but love, relief and gratitude for the people that showed up to celebrate the new reign."
Queen Camilla in new photographs released by Buckingham Palace. (Getty Images)
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Prince Harry's presence was as "a fly on the wall" as he saw nobody in his family while in London, according to Schofield. Harry had been invited to a family luncheon that took place following the coronation but reportedly declined the invite.
"Harry's father was grateful for his presence but is prioritizing the tasks at hand as sovereign. The king does inevitably want a reconciliation but realizes that time heals all wounds and sometimes distance is best. Harry has a lot of growing up to do, and Charles is giving him that space," Schofield explained.
"Harry did not disrupt the coronation. There was relief that he behaved himself and that Meghan stayed behind. There would be no reason for Camilla to be unhappy."
King Charles III and Queen Camilla after the coronation. (Getty Images)
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Shannon Felton Spence, royal contributor, told Fox News Digital King Charles and Queen Camilla aren't worried about Prince Harry and that "all parties have retreated."
"The king and queen have bigger things to tackle now that they can fully turn their attention to their reign," Spence explained. "If Harry’s presence at the coronation put others on edge, it didn’t show. Everyone did a good job keeping the focus where it should be."
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