Did Duchess Camilla try to get William to break up with ‘pretty but dim’ Kate?

Trooping The Colour

I enjoy the “soap opera” of royal coverage as much as the next person, but even I think some of these theories or reports are ridiculously absurd. It’s one thing to create some kind of fictional account of how the Duchess of Cornwall used to hate the Duchess of Cambridge, but it’s quite another to make this into some kind of Game of Thrones-esque battle between “queens.” According to an honest-to-God royal biographer, Camilla hated Kate and tried to convince Charles to work with her to break up William and Kate while they were dating. First of all, Camilla didn’t give a crap. Second of all, Kate and Camilla always got along rather well. Some highlights from this nonsense:

Author Christopher Andersen claims in Game of Crowns: Elizabeth, Camilla, Kate, and the Throne that Camilla wasn’t the biggest fan of Prince William’s university girlfriend, and the two women had a rocky relationship. She was said to have disapproved of Kate’s non-royal background, which made her “too lowly” to marry into the family. Although the pair appear to get on well at events now, Camilla is also said to have thought Kate to be “pretty, but rather dim”. The alleged rift grew so big that Camilla is said to have asked Prince Charles to convince his son to end things with the brunette beauty. The author also alleges that Camilla was jealous of Kate’s growing popularity and feared the pair could eclipse her and Charles as a couple.

An excerpt from the book says: “Camilla, the quintessential Black Queen, hid in the shadows for decades, condemned as a scheming adulteress, denounced by the reigning monarch as “that wicked, wicked woman,” and blamed for the death of her rival, one of the most beloved and admired figures in the world. Biding her time and tending carefully to her image, she gradually salvaged enough of her reputation to secure a place at her prince’s side – and her future as the next queen. Young, gracious, smart, and stunning, the White Queen, known familiarly as just plain Kate, captured the world’s imagination even before she could officially lay claim to her royal lover’s heart.

“Although she lacked both the pedigree and the experience of the Black Queen, she also proved to be inordinately patient – and a cunning survivor of royal dramas and court intrigue. By marrying her Prince Charming and bearing two heirs, the White Queen cast the fate of the monarchy far into the future – perhaps as far as the next century. Beneath the surface, tensions mounted as the two queens-in-waiting protected the interests of their kings—the lackluster, benighted Prince of Wales and his wildly popular son – and their competing courts vied for the love of the people and the power that comes with it.”

[From The Sun]

WTF did I just read? What is this nonsense? I’m just writing this to point out a few things – Camilla and Kate aren’t best friends or anything, but they get along. The issue between these couples has always been between Charles and William. Camilla and Kate avoid Will & Charles’ drama like the plague. The only thing I’ll give Anderson is that Camilla probably did think Kate was “pretty but dim.” Camilla thought the same of Diana, that Diana would be easy to manipulate, and maybe Camilla thought the same of Kate – that Kate would be a doormat, that Kate would follow the rules and not ruffle any feathers. But all this Black Queen and White Queen stuff is ridiculously over-the-top. Literally no one thinks like that.

Here are some photos of William at an event today, and at a Tusk Trust event yesterday. What’s funny is that he never cared what his father or Camilla thought about Kate. If Charles and Camilla had tried to break up Will and Kate, William probably would have proposed to Kate sooner just to spite his father.

The Duke of Cambridge will launch 'Mental Health at Work'

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attends the Tusk Rhino Trail

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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47 Responses to “Did Duchess Camilla try to get William to break up with ‘pretty but dim’ Kate?”

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  1. Darla says:

    But Diana was not easy to manipulate. So seems like her radar is off.

  2. OSTONE says:

    Nah. Camilla’s main focus has always been Charles. She seems like she works a lot, tends to her husband and grandchildren and has everything in her mind but the Cambridges. I can see her liking Meghan more than Kate, but other than that this is poorly written, way out of touch fiction.

  3. Nell Graham says:

    I know we’re getting close to Halloween, but that article is ridiculous.

  4. Maria says:

    I don’t think Camilla considers Kate dim. They probably don’t socialize that much, but get along when they do. Different generations after all.

  5. phaedra says:

    Did anyone else picture Ursula the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid when reading that account of Camilla? Disney princess fan fic. Was it Bring Your Preschool Daughter to Work Day at the British tabloids?

  6. minx says:

    Yeah, not buying this.
    Camilla seems like a live and let live person.

    • Jan90067 says:

      I don’t think she’s a live and let live person, but rather, by her own admission, she’s too lazy to be bothered! lol. She’d rather toss back a few bit G & Ts and let it sort itself out lol

      While I don’t like what she and Charles did to Di, and will never “accept” that, I do think she’s done some good things for DV/Abuse victims in her work (work that she must do now… didn’t her own brother once say she said she wishes she could just stay home at Ray Mill, see the grans and drink?).

      Anyway, as much as I dislike her for her part in Di’s heartache (and Charles!), I do think Cam would be a hoot to get pissed with! lol

      • perplexed says:

        I had the impression Camilla was lazy like Kate during her 20s, 30s, and 40s. Maybe even her 50s? She raised her kids, but so does Kate.

        She’s commended for her work now, but she’s now in her 70s — decades older than Kate. What she did before she married Charles (and was married to someone else) was never really clear to me. Granted she was a private citizen but then again so was Kate was when she was in her 20s. The big accomplishment everyone seems to tout about Camilla is being the number one in Charles’s heart.

  7. Becks1 says:

    Hahahahahahahahaha I kind of love it. The White Queen and the Black Queen.

    My guess is that actually Kate and Camilla get along fine – Camilla may think she’s a bit dim, and Kate may think Camilla is a bit…I don’t know, something – but I imagine they get along well enough. I don’t get the impression they spend long periods of time together hanging out and gossiping or shopping or going for long walks in the countryside or whatever, but some MILs and DILs are just that…..friendly, civil, without being BFFs or arch enemies.

  8. Enough Already says:

    Tumblr nonsense. One, Camilla knows William doesn’t take advice well, two, Charles really liked Kate when she and Will started dating and three, Camilla is not a high school mean girl.

  9. Kay says:

    Well it’s not like William is the brightest bulb himself, so why expect his wife to be? Will and Kate seem well suited. None of them have ever shown an interest in intellectual endeavors or come across as particularly deep or eloquent.

    Charles actually seems like the brightest of the lot, considering his interest in politics, eco-friendly farming and so on, but as a whole the royal family seem very average in the intelligence department.

    But obviously this is a made up story. I very much doubt Camilla made it her business who William was dating, I’m sure she was mostly concerned with her own wobbly position at the time. Given her history within the royal family, she probably knows very well not to rock the boat she’s sitting in.

  10. Murphy says:

    Did she?
    Well I think they *all* did so…yes.
    But Carole had already dug in deep.

  11. Alexandria says:

    I don’t think she gave a f*ck. They don’t seem close but they don’t seem hostile.

  12. Alexx says:

    I seriously doubt Camilla would call another person dim considering she left school at 16 with failing grades & didn’t pursue a full time career herself. And Charles & Camilla made such a mess of their own personal lives that I can’t see anyone wanting to seek their advice on relationships!

    • Kay says:

      That’s the absurdity of monarchy/aristocracy.

      Leave school at 16 with terrible grades, and yet you end up being queen one day! Other citizens will not only bow down to you, but actually pay for your lavish lifestyle.

      I mean, I love gossiping about the royals and find them hugely entertaining, but when you think about it, it’s really nuts.

      • Alexx says:

        @Kay Agree totally!

        Even the Queen has no formal education! Many of us get caught up in the superficial & romantic aspects of royalty that we often forget that they are ordinary people. There is nothing exceptional about any of them.

      • perplexed says:

        I think the Queen had private tutoring. So I think it’s possible she may have learned more than I did in public school.

        Given the time period in which she was born, however, I don’t think she would have been expected to go to university. Expectations may be different for Princess Charlotte.

      • Snappyfish says:

        Simple Fact. 3 members of the Royal family are college graduates: William, Catherine & Meghan

      • Carolind says:

        Meghan might be a college graduate but William and Kate are university graduates. In the UK university is ranked higher than a college and to my knowledge, in the UK you cannot graduate from a college with a degree.

        However, Charles also graduated from Cambridge Uni with a degree as far as I can remember and one of the York Princesses graduated from Newcastle Uni. Peter Philips could also have been to university although I think it was college. Also I am sure James Ogilvy, the son of Princess Alexandra, graduated too from St Andrews and the current Duke of Gloucester also probably graduated from university. Maybe also, some of the Kents.

        So…quite a few!

      • Mae says:

        @Carolind
        Actually Meghan graduated from Northwestern University. So yes she also has a University degree. I think many people just use college and university interchangeably sometimes even though where I’m from college usually means a two year degree while university is 4 years. Meghan has a 4 years Bachelors of Arts degree in International Relations and Theatre (Double Major).

    • PrincessK says:

      Just because she has no academic qualifications does not mean that Camilla is stupid, she got what she wanted in the end and that wasn’t easy was it ?

      • enike says:

        Maybe Camilla dropped out from some fancy private school when even at 16 she can instinctively feel the BS and pretention and she couldnt be bothered by it 🙂

        I think Camilla is very intelligent
        and I also think she doesnt really care for the BS from the imaginative public and never did 🙂

  13. Chisey says:

    Oh god I think I picked up a book by this guy at the library once. I thought it’d be a political drama inspired equally by the current royal family and Game of Thrones. It was so awful I put it down after less than 50 pages (which is rare for me). The White Queen Black Queen crap was all over that book.

  14. zinjojo says:

    It’s like the author watched an episode of “The Windsors” on Netflix and thought it was a documentary.

  15. Deedee says:

    Did I just read some royal fan fiction? Oh, please.

  16. T.Fanty says:

    Poor Will and his increasingly shiny head. You can’t fight genetics, amirite?

  17. CJ says:

    Yikes. I read trashy historical romance to mindlessly switch off sometimes, and this painfully flowery prose beyond even that.

    I’d rather read Twilight – and considering I refused to read any further than the blank pages when Edward left Bella because it was that crap, that’s saying something!

  18. Sage says:

    Junior high creative writing. So dramatic with white queen vs black queen, dueling courts nonsense.

  19. Anastasia says:

    I really can’t see Camilla caring enough/being emotionally invested enough to try and interfere with William and Kate pre-marriage.

  20. Parigo says:

    Lol that William is the “wildly popular son”.

  21. MavenTheFirst says:

    I doubt it. William is dim enough for the both of them. Why torture an intelligent, caring woman?

  22. Heather Todd says:

    I just read Game of Crowns. The most scathing accusations are regarding then Queen’s and Queen Mum’s assessment of Camilla. And he also lists all the questionable things that Philip has said. It’s quite shocking! In the book, the tension between Camilla and Kate Didn’t last. It’s a highly entertaining book. But take it with a grain of salt.

  23. Digital Unicorn says:

    I don’t think Cams ever really cared, they get on well enough but I agree that she – like everyone else – thinks Kate is ‘pretty but dim’ and well, she is (‘can you test the smell by smelling it’ about tea during a visit to Fortnums and Mason with Cams and TQ).

    • Wowsers says:

      So you’ve never had one tongue-tied, garbled comment come out of your mouth in your life? You’ve never accidently expressed yourself without perfect articulation? You’ve never muddled a few thoughts and realised how silly they sound coming out of your mouth? I hope you always sound perfectly composed and articulate in every instance for you to be calling Kate ‘dim’ on the basis of one muddled comment. Indeed, if that’s your only example I think it implies rather the inverse – that she’s pretty smart and composed 99.99% of the time.

  24. paranormalgirl says:

    Wow, the caca is thick in that book.

  25. Heather says:

    Well that’s the nicest rainbow rhino I’ve ever seen.

    How lovely to see a large non-horsie animal and a member of the Royal Family together without guns being involved.

  26. Emily says:

    Did the author use The Windsors as his source? 😂

  27. burdzeyeview says:

    Is this a script for the latest Disney movie? It “Disney” look like the author will be winning any literary awards any time soon…LOL