Not too long ago, the royal family was so worried about how the public would react to their heir, Charles, marrying his mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, that they publicly confirmed she would never be Queen when he became King.
WATCH: King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry march at the Queens funeral
But thanks to a trusted team of PR experts, Charles worked tirelessly to rehabilitate Camilla in the eyes of his subjects (and parents) – and his efforts paid off, even with the continued universal adoration for his late ex-wife, Princess Diana.
In February, just seven months before her death, Queen Elizabeth II announced it was her “sincere wish” that her daughter-in-law be known as her son’s Queen Consort.
“Camilla has played the cards she was dealt beautifully,” says a palace insider. “She achieved the near-impossible task of going from royal mistress to Queen, and winning the public’s affection in the process. There weren’t many of us who thought she could pull it off and she’s proven everyone wrong.”
However, Charles, 73, and Camilla, 75, fear that by next month, when his estranged son Prince Harry releases his memoir, it may all come undone.
“They are convinced it’ll be a burn book thinly disguised as a memoir,” says a source. “Harry has a lot of unresolved anger about his parents’ divorce, and Charles strongly believes he’s going to take it all out on Camilla.
“The King and Queen are in panic mode, and preparing for what to do if Harry puts her on blast.”
A separate source says, “Camilla fears it’s going to be the early ’90s all over again, when she had to hide away [at her home] in Gloucestershire alone for months while the entire country raged about her for stealing Charles from Diana.
“There was a lot more to that story then, and she has no doubt there will be again if Harry goes after her.
“Camilla is one tough woman, but she’s well aware that public outrage back then has nothing on the cancel culture of today.
“She’s already preparing to draw the blinds at her country home and lay low for a while.”
Royal expert Phil Dampier tells New Idea that Camilla is right to be worried.
“Harry saw his parents arguing at a young age and those memories have stayed with him,” Phil explains. “He knows his mother Diana called Camilla ‘the Rottweiler’ and blamed her for the failure of her marriage to Charles. But Camilla is now Queen and a popular member of the royal family. The Queen changed her mind about Camilla and accepted her.
“Harry should do the same and drop the book – but I doubt he will. Camilla will be dreading what Harry says about her in his book, but whatever happens, King Charles will support her.
“The irony is that in one interview a few years ago Harry said that he and William ‘loved her to bits’ – clearly he was just saying that for the sake of peace at the time.”
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