Camilla Parker-Bowles has remained a prominent member of the royal family since marrying King Charles III in 2005, but her step-children, Princes William and Harry have set strong boundaries regarding that relationship. And according to royal author Angela Levin, Prince William especially has made it clear that the newly-appointed Queen Consort will never fill the role of his late mother, Princess Diana.
In her new book, Camilla: From Outcast to Queen Consort, Levin revealed that the Prince of Wales was very direct when it came to his children’s relationship with Camilla. “William has made it clear that Camilla is the wife of his father, but not a step-grandmother to his children,” the royal author said, adding that William and Kate Middleton’s three children know they have “two grandfathers but only one grandmother.”
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She continued, “William and Harry were 23 and 20, respectively, when Camilla officially became their stepmother in 2005. She was more of a friendly grown-up they saw occasionally at royal gatherings. She tried to be encouraging rather than influential.”
Levin then added that Camilla, who has five grandchildren of her own from her first marriage to Andrew Parker-Bowles, is perfectly fine with opting out of the step-grandmother title. “Nor has she tried to take over any responsibility as a step-grandmother to the Cambridges’ children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis,” she wrote. “Especially as Catherine’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, are so close.”