04 February 2024 , 23:28
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Queen Elizabeth II eventually came to respect Camilla and supported Charles' decision to marry her, a royal author has claimed.
In her upcoming book 'My Mother And I', biographer Ingrid Seward claims that the late monarch had initially chosen to establish a healthy distance between herself and Camilla in the years following Princess Diana's death. Amid a wave of public criticism of the Royal Family, she had chosen not to appear at any events that Camilla did - though despite this, the author claims the Queen had "never disliked her".
In fact, she is said to have been an early supporter of the now-King and Diana getting married - having seemingly grown tired of the "cat and mouse game" between the two of them. Explaining why the Queen encouraged Charles to tie the knot, Ingrid Seward writes in her book: "Public opinion was still running high against Camilla when the Queen decided enough was enough.
"Privately, she'd felt for some time that the couple should get married. Her feeling was that it was the only way to end the issue and stop what she called the 'cat and mouse' game the couple were playing. By then, she was also convinced the marriage would prove the making of Charles – as a man, and eventually as King."
The late Queen is also said to have been sympathetic to Camilla's plight in the public eye following Charles' split from Diana. Ingrid claims the Princess's allies had circulated the idea that Charles had begun cheating on Diana with Camilla just two years into the relationship - something the author described as "creative nonsense," which had been designed to discredit Charles as a heartless character.
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However, Queen Elizabeth II - who is said to have been concerned by the rumours without getting too involved - is not thought to have bought into this version of events. She is said to have later described Camilla as a "much-maligned woman".