Duchess Camilla ‘will be tuning in with a glass of wine’ to watch The Crown

Royal visit to Sussex

Yes, we’re still talking about The Crown! What’s interesting is that when The Crown first began airing, the Windsors were somewhat happy about it. They got a boost of interest from a new generation being introduced to the 20th century history of Queen Elizabeth II’s early days as a young monarch. It didn’t hurt that QEII was played by an attractive actress (Claire Foy), or that many of the dramatizations in Season 1 & 2 were sympathetic to the Queen more than anything. But the party’s over. By the fourth season, people can see the Windsor family for who they are: a dysfunctional, petty, toxic band of repressed a–holes, with the Queen being the petty a–hole in chief. Royal commentators are scrambling to blast the series and nitpick the historical inaccuracies. It feels like Prince Charles and his advisors in Clarence House are waging a massive campaign to reject the (mostly correct) narratives in Season 4. So this is pretty curious – Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair claims that the Duchess of Cornwall loves the series and she’s probably going to watch this season.

Among the millions of people watching the new season of The Crown this weekend will be someone who is an integral part of the story: Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. According to sources close to the royal, Camilla has watched previous seasons of the hit TV show and plans to watch series four.

“I imagine she’ll be tuning in with a glass of red wine to watch it, she has seen the previous series,” said a friend of the royal. “She has a wonderful sense of humor and this won’t fuss her in the slightest.”

The Queen and Princess Anne are said to have no interest in watching the Netflix drama—according to a family friend, “the Queen has no desire to watch herself in a fictitious TV program, while Anne has no time for such nonsense.” But Camilla, who is played by Emerald Fennell, is more curious about her on-screen persona. “She has watched it, of course she has and I believe [Charles] has too,” added the source. “I don’t think she has any real issue with it. Her feeling is very much ‘never complain, never explain.’”

Royal sources are also aware of the possible negative repercussions of the next series for Camilla and Charles and how the storyline might revive some of the ill feelings of the past, particularly with the ongoing controversy surrounding Martin Bashir’s 1995 BBC interview with Diana.

“Leading royal historians and experts have dismissed it as fiction but Netflix is playing a dangerous game because they’re making money out of characterizing people who are still alive and work very hard for the nation,” said one well-placed source. “If people are using the series as a textbook for royal history that’s a worry. Netflix has a duty to be upfront about its programming and the producers should be more honest about what is fact and what is fiction.”

The source added that the series does a disservice to Camilla. “Camilla falls into the baddie category which is to completely simplify her. I would hope people judge Camilla on what they have seen over the past 15 years. She is a mother, a grandmother, and now a hard-working member of the Royal Family. Her work speaks for itself, her work with literacy and with the victims of domestic violence for example is very important. Duty is incredibly important to her and she will be by Charles’ side in Germany this weekend. It’s a shame The Crown doesn’t capture that side to her.”

[From Vanity Fair]

Completely weird messaging, especially considering Nicholl gets her sourcing straight from various palace communications’ offices. Did someone in Clarence House tell her that Camilla watches the series and then Charles’ big Netflix-hate campaign came in to push the “but it’s all lies and trash” message? It feels – again – like it’s Amateur Hour over at the palaces. Stick to one simple argument and leave it at that. All of this nitpicking about what is and is not historically accurate and whether the Windsors like it or don’t like it, it’s all so confusing.

Prince Charles Prince of Wales  accompanied by  Camilla Duchess of Cornwall visit The Ulster Museum in Belfast

The Crown S4

Photos courtesy of Netflix, Avalon Red, WENN and Backgrid.

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162 Responses to “Duchess Camilla ‘will be tuning in with a glass of wine’ to watch The Crown”

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  1. Belli says:

    “Oh she’ll have a drink and a giggle watching Diana suffer on screen.”

    BIG YIKES.

    • Seraphina says:

      Yes, I think that comment comes across in very poor taste. At first I agreed with Eleonor, having a drink and watching with Cams would be fun, but then watching Diana suffer would have been too much knowing the part Cams played. Sorry Eleonor 🙁

    • Lorelei says:

      Wow. Everything about this is really gross imo. If it’s true that she can really sit there and watch all of that without “being fussed in the slightest,” then she’s an even worse person that I thought she was (a very low bar to begin with). It’s hard for many of US to watch it and we didn’t even know these people! If she can relive these memories without feeling guilty as sin at the pain that she contributed to a very young Diana to suffer, idk…that seems sociopathic to me tbh.

      But since the quote is from a source saying “I imagine…” I guess we don’t know for sure if it’s even true.

      Regardless, I think Camilla is a disgusting person overall.

    • Anance says:

      My thoughts exactly!

      ROYAL PR: Let’s put out that it doesn’t bother Camilla, she’ll watch it knowing it is hysterical full of historical inaccuracies.

      REST OF US: She wants to relive torturing Diana.

      • LadySwampwitchGivsNeauxFux says:

        Charles is so much worse. Diana was his wife. Frankly the whole situation was just tragic for Diana. To be manipulated into a marriage at a young age to a much older man and then find out that the man has always loved and always will love another and then gaslight her into thinking it was her fault. It’s hard to watch that and feel anything but sad for Diana and angry with the two of them.

  2. Eleonor says:

    I would love to watch it while boozing with Camilla !!!!!!

    • tempest prognosticator says:

      Me, too!

    • Flamingo says:

      Other than the Diana lunch scene, I thought Camilla was easily portrayed the most favorably in the love triangle. Charles came off as a whiny, controlling, egomaniac. Diana came off as quite childish (I realize that she was very close to being a child) and spotlight hogging. See: the Billy Joel dancing scene. Camilla for the most part seemed fairly level headed and maybe even charming by comparison.

      • Elizabeth Regina says:

        I disagree. You do not take a young girl out to lunch and pretend to be her friend. That is sly, deceitful and cunning in my book. If she had any decency, she could have firmly let go and broken things off and given Charles’ marriage a chance. No, I wouldn’t want to watch anything with her.

      • Snuffles says:

        That was a peak Mean Girl, Regina George move.

      • Ashley says:

        I totally agree. She seems very calm, and very realistic about the situation they were all in. And the scene at lunch was not deceitful in the least! Camilla was conspiring (in a positive way) with Diana about the elephant in the room, as a means to come to an agreement on the terms of her mistress-ship, was something that was very much done in royal relationships, and very adult. It was Charles’ continuous crappy behaviour that was the issue.

      • minx says:

        IMO Camilla comes off slightly better in The Crown because of the pretty, sincere actress who plays her.

      • Becks1 says:

        The lunch itself may have been okay except that it was clear from Diana’s reaction that she didn’t expect anything to continue with Camilla – she even says to Charles, when he says she’s going to call Diana, “who, your ex?” She definitely thought things were over between them. Camilla made it perfectly clear that things weren’t. She destroyed Diana’s fairy tale image of marriage to Charles before she ever walked down the aisle.

      • Tessa says:

        Even this version of Camilla I did not find “charming.” Taking a young girl to dinner and lording it over her that she knows Charles better was just horrid. And the hunting party scenes were so gross, with Charles “jokes” and Camillla giggling over them.

      • Maria says:

        Diana came off as childish because she was essentially a child.

    • Absolutely. I think the Camilla of today is mellowed, funny, has a great dedication to her causes, and has a life where she is comfortable in her own skin. All 3 of them in that relationship F***ed up, but I do think Camilla has paid her debt to her own involvement and has grown into a great “dame.” As to Katie Nicoll, I think her sources statement of , “I imagine….” this is what Camilla is doing, tells the reader point blank the entire article is fiction.

      • Lorelei says:

        Both Charles and Camilla, imo, were played by actors FAR more attractive than they actually were. I don’t know how much this impacts people’s opinion, but I don’t really understand it. Every time Charles was onscreen, I was just like “He never looked anything like that!!” Maybe it’s just more noticeable since Emma Corrin did SUCH an extraordinary job at portraying Diana. She really embodied her and at times it felt like we were watching footage of Diana. The casting of C&C just seemed…off.

      • Tessa says:

        Camilla has no choice but to work, she never bothered with charity work until 1997 when Charles paid Bolland to work with her and prepare her for her future life as a senior royal. She also gets plenty of perks and privileges and likes the bling.

    • Tessa says:

      I wouldn’t I think she is not a nice person. I would be sick watching her watch this. She should stay away from it and visit her grandchildren through her marriage to APB.

  3. Sofia says:

    It’s still Katie Nicholl so I’m still eh about it.

    If the Peter Morgan’a movie “The Queen” is any indication, the Crown will go back to the sympathetic/rose coloured glasses portrayal that they all want in the last 2 seasons.

    I haven’t finished the season yet, and yes, it’s not as sympathetic as before but it still pushes the “Camilla is the only one for Charles” when that wasn’t true, along with the “one true love/soulmates” angle. Again, not sympathetic but it could have been worse.

    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      Exactly. It’s FoS (full of sh*t). It leaves out the other two married women he was having affairs with. And Charles may’ve loved Cam, but SHE loved her husband. She also wanted to keep the status quo, even with her husband cheating on HER with Anne. Cam wanted to STAY married, and keep Charles on the side. It has been out there forever that SHE did not WANT to MARRY Charles. At the point they *did* marry, it was almost like they *had* to because of all that went down, and that is when the “star crossed lovers who couldn’t be together because REASONS!!!” was put out there by Charles’ PR team.

      • minx says:

        Well, exactly. The exchange between Anne and Charles where he talks about poor Camilla and her cheating lout of a husband…casting Camilla and Charles in a more favorable light. We’re supposed to believe Camilla was driven into Charles’s arms because of Andrew, and that it wasn’t tawdry because it was true love. Blech.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        “he talks about poor Camilla and her cheating lout of a husband”

        The cheating husband who is doing the cheating with his sister?

        All this makes the Cholmondeleys seem so ….normal??? LOL!

      • Tessa says:

        THe series left out Lady Tryon. When Camilla was going through two pregnancies with APB’s children, Charles took up with Lady Tryon. And in a documentary about Lady Tryon it was reported that , Camilla was said to be nervous that she would “lose” being the first ranked Married MIstress.

      • Still_Sarah says:

        @ Minx : I always got the impression that this was the way the uber rich dealt with the issue of marriage. Fidelity was done in the first few years to make sure the heirs to the money/titles were in fact his children. After that, it became more of a social contract with both spouses able to do what (or who) they wanted as long as they were discreet and kept it out of the press. Both parties understood this and accepted it.

        @ Tessa : yes, Charles had so many mistresses over the years. For some reason, it was considered high status to have your wife bedded by the future king. Andrew Parker Bowles was the butt of many jokes including a riff on the saying “he laid down his life for his country” (i.e. a man dying in war). APB was said to have “laid down his WIFE for his country”. LOL.

    • tcbc says:

      Hmm…I don’t know if I agree with this? I think we’re supposed to believe that Charles is in love, and Camilla lets him love her. The most I ever got from her is a territorial fondness.

    • Va Va Kaboom says:

      Peter Morgan has a weird relationship with the idea of the Monarchy and that came out clearly in “The Queen” and now with “The Crown”. Like the overwrought scene with QEII and the stag in the movie. It’s so trite and he’s added variations of that damn deer in multiple Royal based projects. I don’t think he even really understands how he feels about the BRF in general and the Queen specifically.

  4. Becks1 says:

    Maybe she’s not that bothered by it because she knows its true?

    I think in the end though, while Camilla’s portrayal isn’t great, its not as bad as it could have been either. She comes across like an aristocrat who understands the rules, and the scenes where Charles is pressuring her to agree to marry him if he divorces Diana are very interesting IMO because it seems clear there that Camilla doesn’t really want to marry him, she is fine with the way things are. Like I said its not a great portrayal, but I think they could have made her look a lot worse. Charles comes across really bad though IMO – petulant and spoiled and manipulative and the scene where the Queen yells at him is pretty great.

    I think the real fear is what Camilla says in the one scene – she knows she will always lose to Diana. And with this all being brought up again, she’s going to lose again.

    As for people remembering the last 15 years of service etc – that’s what the palace is so worried about, isn’t it? As other commenters here have said – 10 hours of a TV show are undoing the past 20 years of PR.

    • Nic919 says:

      I’ve watched the season and Camilla doesn’t come off that poorly. It’s really Charles who looks bad here.

      • Becks1 says:

        I think the lunch scene is where she came off the worst. The rest of it seems more focused on Charles – he was the one running to her, begging her for a commitment, pissed that she might be happy with Andrew Parker-Bowles, etc. I mean its not great, she’s still carrying on an affair with a married man, but I think they could have made it so much worse. Maybe next season, lol.

      • Dee says:

        Camilla was so passive aggressive in that lunch scene that I just wanted to shove that dessert in her face. She pretended to be a friend and then just lorded it over Diana with all the intimate stuff she knew about Charles.

    • Rebecca says:

      The only reason Camilla got divorced is because her husband wanted to marry HIS mistress (who later died of cancer). I seriously doubt she and Andrew Parker-Bowles would have gotten a divorce if HE hadn’t wanted out. She was perfectly fine with all his cheating (which he consistently did during the entirety of their relationship AND marriage).

      Andrew married his mistress less than a year after the divorce was finalized, and Camilla had no other option but to tie her trough to Charles.

      The fact is the sanitation of Charles sex life, and erasure of his other mistresses, into the tale about he and Camilla being “true loves” who were prevented from marrying is all the work of PR since Diana’s death in 1997.

      Camilla was perfectly fine being a royal mistress and all the “perks” that come with it. Her great-grandmother had served that purpose for Charles’ great-great-grandfather. She knew what it involved, and was happy to play that role.

    • Lorelei says:

      Maybe, but if I were her I would be much MORE bothered if it’s all true! If I had behaved the way she did, I’d feel much better being able to issue a truthful denial of it. The thought that she finds it entertaining or amusing is very creepy to me!

    • I read an article some years back that it was Camilla’s father who put the screws to Charles — after his divorce from Diana — about marrying Camilla and doing right by her. Charles was dithering — as usual — while Camilla was being spit on in supermarkets, etc. Basically, her father stepped in and told Charles to man up, that Charles had publicly stated she was the love of his life and that he couldn’t now just leave her dangling to face all of the hatred and venom that was out there. I think Camilla was just — whatever, but her father felt strongly that Charles had to protect her. I mean — think about it — of the 3 of them, Camilla is the ONLY one who has not uttered one word in public about any of it. Charles is a real piece of work.

      • Lorelei says:

        Yes even though I’m no fan of Camilla I absolutely agree that Charles deserves the lion’s share of the blame all around. He seems to never have been capable of making decisions for himself for his entire life. How mortifying for Camilla’s father to need to intervene when they were, what, in their early 50’s?! Humiliating for Charles imo!

      • Anance says:

        Agree with you both.

        From the beginning, Charles and Camilla had an open relationship. Diana was just part of it. C&C partied with a group of people who were forever hooking up, and they were totally cool about it.

        BTW, Charles married Camilla b/c after Parker-Bowles divorced her, he began supporting her using funds from the Duchy of Cornwall. Coinciding with Diana’s butler’s trial, the government began investigating and, unless he married her, the funds would be cut off.

        Yes, Lorelei, Camilla’s father had to intervene with Charles for making Camilla’s situation absolutely horrific.

      • Thirtynine says:

        Camilla may not have uttered one word in public, but didn’t she have a cozy relationship with one of the tabloid editors where things regularly ….. leaked? I’m sure I’ve read that. And if she can re-watch Diana’s suffering in cold blood and think it a bit of a giggle……

    • Tessa says:

      I don’t think the real Camilla had any fear of Diana, just contempt for her. She called her “that ridiculous creature” –which came to light from a letter in the public domain from Camilla to Charles. I doubt Camilla was the least bit jealous.

      • Becks1 says:

        @tessa – I think she was only “afraid” in that she knew what would happen if Charles left Diana for her – she knew who would win the PR war. And Diana did (considering Camilla had to hide in her house for a year). Now, I would say Camilla’s standing has greatly improved but this may set it back again.

  5. equality says:

    I do agree with the “source” on one point. Camilla has done some good work on issues she represents. There is good and bad in everybody. Now why can the media not apply that point of view to Harry and Meghan and give over on highlighting every misstep Harry has ever made every time they have an opportunity?

    • Gail says:

      What she has or is doing now is irrelevant, it’s a show about history, and in the past Camilla was a home wrecker . She did sleep with another woman husband. So what exactly would katie know- nothing like the show to do? Rewrite history to make the royal family feel all warm and fuzzy? Funny how none of them seem bothered when it was Megan being lied about daily . No one wanted to paint her in a good light. Especially when she was pregnant and breast feeding. So why should they now want to be caring for man whore Charles and his mistress?

      • Flamingo says:

        Let’s not forget that Diana enjoyed her dalliances as well. I’m not excusing anyone’s behavior, but Diana was also imperfect.

      • Darla says:

        Would Diana have been perfect if she had kept her mouth shut and never had any affairs, subjecting herself to a sexless and loveless life?

      • Becks1 says:

        Diana being imperfect does not excuse Charles’s behavior or how the royal family treated her, especially since she wasn’t the one already emotionally committed to someone else when she got married.

      • Myra says:

        I think the ‘but Diana’ argument doesn’t work for two reasons. Her mistakes later on does not excuse what both Charles and Camilla did to her when she was only 19. We shouldn’t use a victim’s mistakes to cushion their victimers from blame. Also, Diana died. She didn’t get the chance to redeem whatever mistakes people try to bring up when Charles and Camilla’s adultery are brought up. I also don’t blame Camilla for getting involved with Charles, but she shouldn’t have aided Charles in gaslighting Diana. In doing so, she directly contributed to the abuse of Diana.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        Flamingo, Diana didn’t start having affairs until after Harry was born, and her marriage was dead (with Charles’ comments about Harry’s red hair and the fact he was a boy). Diana’s first affair was with Hewitt, and Harry was about 2 then. So you can NOT equate the two “having affairs”. Charles NEVER stopped cheating, pre-engagement, engagement period, marriage. NEVER. And NOT just with Cam.

      • tcbc says:

        Charles’ infidelity does not excuse Diana’s. Not because she owed him anything (screw that) but because she did to other women what Camilla did to her. This is another part of the Diana Myth that irritates. What about the wives of the husbands Diana went after? Does their pain not matter?

      • Lorelei says:

        I don’t think that Charles’s infidelity “excuses” Diana’s, but people should be clear that she only cheated after years of her trying to make her marriage to Charles work while he was unfaithful all over the place.
        It doesn’t erase what she put the wives of the men she had affairs with through, but it was almost like a last resort for her, a “fck it!” after years of trying so hard and enduring Charles’s cruelty. If he had been a decent husband from the beginning, I don’t think she would have gone out looking to cheat. But who knows; we’ll never know what might have been.

      • Tessa says:

        THe trouble was divorce was discouraged by the royals. ANd both had to keep up appearances. It would IMO be unrealistic for Diana to have joined a convent or been celibate for the rest of her life while Charles was involved with Camilla and others. Diana was dumped by Charles after she had the heir and spare, it was pretty much over. If they were an average couple, they could have divorced under these circumstances.

    • Tessa says:

      Camilla had no choice but to do royal work. That was the “price” she had to pay for marrying in. That’s why Charles hired Bolland to work with her. It is nothing heroic that she does royal work.

  6. DS9 says:

    I’m sure she will.

    Camilla hasn’t an ounce of regret over what went down. Or even really how. I mean she eventually marries the man who pulled all this bullshit and he isn’t sorry either.

    He didn’t rehab his image out of regret, just necessity.

    • Betsy says:

      We don’t actually know that. I think it’s fair to say that she and Charles were monstrously insensitive to the point of cruelty and made enormous assumptions as to what Diana understood early on and what she was willing to accept, but we don’t know that they have no regrets.

      • JT says:

        I think Camilla regrets what happened to her reputation, but I don’t think she or Charles regret their behavior. 20 years later Charles is continuing the smear campaign against Diana, gaslighting her from the grave to make himself look good. I’m sorry, but a regretful man wouldn’t do that.

      • DS9 says:

        I think a passing glance at their behavior since, including their shilling of it as a grand love story and thr decades old gaslighting campaign and denial of what we know to be true all suggests a lack of remorse.

        What they regret is that Diana didn’t play by unspoken rules.

  7. Edna says:

    Instead of focusing all their wrath and fury against Netflix, they should direct it towards Peter Morgan and his British production company that produces the show. Netflix is pretty much hands off and is only provides distribution through their streaming service. Morgan and company are the creatives behind the Crown responsible for content, writing, etc. etc. The Crown employs hundreds of people and helps prop up the British film industry and is an entirely British production.

  8. Sydney says:

    She got everything she wanted this is a victory lap for her to watch it on screen to reminisce and giggle.

    • Darla says:

      Yes, Diana who she “always lost to” in an early grave unable to defend herself throughout Camilla and Charles 2 decade long PR glow up. So in the end, Diana did lose. I’m sure that’s good for a giggle to these just absolutely horrid people.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Darla I think it actually works in the opposite way— Diana is forever frozen in time, young and beautiful, the wronged party by Charles and the BRF. While Camilla ages and continues to have to deal with the fallout from all of this every time an anniversary or tv show/movie about Diana gains the public’s attention.
        If Diana had lived, I don’t necessarily think she would have the glowing worldwide love that she does now. She died at kind of the perfect time to cement her image; she was at the height of her beauty and was finally working on causes she hadn’t been able to when she was a member of the BRF, like land mines. I think she’d just been on a mission with Mother Teresa shortly before she died and remember seeing the photos all over. She was also being trashed by the tabloids for dating a Muslim man.
        I’m not saying by any means that it’s better that she died, of course not —but she did gain the advantage of being seared in everyone’s minds as young, beautiful, beloved, and tragic. That is basically impossible for Camilla (or anyone) to compete with.

      • Tessa says:

        Charles and Camilla did not entirely win, their PR has not worked with everybody.

      • Thirtynine says:

        When I first started commenting here, it was mostly Tessa patiently setting the record straight about Diana and correcting a lot of the false PR that has been pushed since. Diana is gone, beautiful as ever, but still, after 20 years of determined whitewashing, no expense spared, plenty of smears have been made that those who weren’t around at the time can easily identify the false from the true. Diana isn’t here to speak for herself. To have the Crown portray it in front of us again so vividly, in a way it’s traumatic. Diana and what she went through really did evoke a powerful emotional response in people, especially women. She could have been us. Despite her privilege, it is easy to identify with her experiences woman to woman. I’m glad it’s been done. Sure it’s fictionalised, but broadly, it’s pretty much the way I remember it. I’m glad people from a younger generation are getting a glimpse of what some of us have tried to share.

  9. MellyMel says:

    She didn’t seem to regret how she acted back then, so why should she start now.

  10. Kalana says:

    The real issue is all the behavior is still the same. The Windsors are still cold and self-absorbed, Charles is still manipulative and Camilla cares mainly about her own comfort and her connection with Charles.

    I’ve been listening to the You’re Wrong About podcast episodes on Diana. I wish they had included the story about the hook arm just to give people an idea of what Camilla and Diana had to deal with.

    • Anance says:

      Hook arm story? Do tell.

      • Kalana says:

        Charles broke his arm. He wanted to talk to the press about it while wearing a fake arm with a hook -to claim that now he has a hook arm but then he would pull it off and show his real arm. The courtiers didn’t know how to talk him out of it so Diana said get the arm and then right before he meets the press, pretend you lost it. They do that and Charles is angry but does the press meeting properly.

  11. Seraphina says:

    Yet the BRF has no issue (that I know of) with those corny fairytale movies depicting how Wills and Kate got together. massive eyeroll.
    I watched episode three last night. I have to say, it must be difficult for Wills and Harry to watch their mother’s demise unfold on screen. I know that it would bring up some deep rooted hate towards the family. But who knows how everything has been portrayed to them since they were young.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      Yes, I wanted to say something similar, about what self-serving hypocrites they all are. “Netflix has a duty to be upfront about its programming and the producers should be more honest about what is fact and what is fiction” — and since WHEN has the royal family been honest and upfront about ANYTHING? I am utterly baffled that the Brits, who otherwise seem like sensible people, would still support such an outdated, racist, sexist, institution as a “god-ordained” monarchy.

  12. S808 says:

    I’m sure the only thing she regrets was having to marry charles. She was probably at peak comfort when she was married to APB and seeing charles on the side— all the perks of being with a royal and none of the headache that comes with it, including having to be around him 24/7. I doubt she regrets what happened with Diana, I wouldn’t be surprised if she thinks diana protested too much.

    • GuestwithCat says:

      I think this is probably the most accurate take on her. But we will probably never know. I hate that she played an integral part of Diana’s suffering and had her share of complicity in how things went for the Sussexes. But part of me has to admire her perennial air of having zero F’s to give.

      As someone who cares too deeply about too many things and who is always second guessing myself, her image of detachment is something I sometimes envy. But I don’t think I could actually live like that. I’ve done my share of awful things to people but I do have regret and shame for being selfish and stupid as I tried to figure out how to get through life. I’d like to think that in her position I would have tried to help Harry and Meghan as much as I could, despite her own precarious public position. I’d at least have had them over for tea and sympathy as often as possible. And I’d have done a pap run wearing something from the capsule collection even though it’s not my personal style. Well, not Camilla’s personal style. Oh well, I’m not her. Thank goodness I guess. I would not want to be married to Charles or have Willie as a stepson.

      • SomeChick says:

        Right? It would have been so easy to make the smallest shows of support (or even to offer real support). But right now she’s got it as good as she’s ever going to get it, so why rock the boat? They’re all really just a bunch of self-serving asshats. I imagine she’s just happy she’s being protrayed by a pretty actress.

    • Ainsley7 says:

      Camilla definitely never wanted to marry Charles. It was basically a repeat of Edward and Wallis without an abdication. He was in love and she was just doing damage control.

      • Tessa says:

        If she did not want to marry him, she would not have gotten involved with him in the first place. Unlike Dale Tryon who was a more conventional married mistress, Camilla I think had ambitions and coveted what Diana had. She also micromanaged the Wales marriage and was said to tell Charles not to have more than two children with Diana, which may explain why Charles did not “try for a daughter next time” after Harry was born.

      • Anance says:

        Camilla just wanted to be the official mistress—Maîtresse-en-titre. She and Charles belong to an era and class where such a position was superior to Queen Consort. Socially, more respected, official recognized as the de facto partner of the Royal.

        In Diana’s case, Charles still had to pay her expenses while in the past, the Maîtresse-en-titre received the lion’s share of jewels, clothes, etc.

      • RoyalBlue says:

        Tessa as usual, I agree 100% with your take in this matter.

        Now for my ficticious analysis, Camilla only used APB to try and get Charles jealous and propose to her. Of course two people madly in love with so much chemistry want to get married. He was just not ready to propose when they dated. He went off to the Navy and APB loved Camilla and proposed to her. Soon into the marriage he came to realise he could not stand her nonstop chattering with and about the PoW. Talking about his favorite colour, his favorite drink, their shooting events etc. Realizing she still deeply loved her ex- they agreed to keep other lovers whilst staying married.

        the rest is history.

    • Becks1 says:

      I don’t think she wanted to marry him either and like I said…either in my above comment or on another post (I cant keep them straight lol) I think the Crown actually makes that pretty clear – Anne tells Charles Camilla doesn’t want to marry him, and Camilla herself is pretty close to saying it, when Charles asks her if she will if he divorces Diana there is a BIG pause, and you get the vibe she only says yes because she doesn’t think he will ever divorce Diana.

    • Jaded says:

      Interestingly enough, Wallis Simpson didn’t want to marry Edward VIII, she was content to be his mistress and get all the perqs of such a position. But when he abdicated and news broke of the twice divorced American harlot being the reason all hell broke loose and she basically had to marry him. She’d painted herself into a corner. It’s somewhat similar to Camilla and Charles’ relationship.

      • Tessa says:

        Wallis though did not undermine a wife, Edward VIII never married. She just put aside the other “confidantes” Edward had like Thelma Furness and Freda Dudley Ward. I think because Charles had a young wife and children, what happened with C and C caused more heartache. MR Simpson hired a co-respondent so he would be the guilty party in the Simpson divorce not Wallis.

  13. February-Pisces says:

    I actually don’t think camilla or Charles come off bad at all, considering what actually happened. The Crown also touches on Diana’s affairs too, so it’s not like it was one sided. Camilla’s character wasn’t in it that much anyway. Seriously no one would have said sh*t had they and RRs not kicked up such a fuss. They are the ones drawing attention to it, it like Tatler all over again. We all know the history of what happened and how bad things got, it’s not new information.

    I think josh and Emma (Charles and Diana) had way more chemistry than Josh and the actress who played camilla. All I kept thinking is why is he not into Diana? Also I’m not gonna lie, I was crushing on josh a little bit.

    • Seraphina says:

      I think Josh is more attractive then Charles. I will say, I recall watching all this on TV when I was a very young girl and I will never forget seeing Diana and Charles and thinking: THIS is whom she is marrying??? Their must be a better looking Prince for this beautiful princess.

      • SofiasSideEye says:

        Same here, I was quite disappointed when I saw the prince. Charles was certainly not what I’d been lead to believe. lol

    • Becks1 says:

      I think Josh was kind of a poor pick for Charles, in that he looks young and innocent and it takes away the age difference (chasm as Anne put it in the series) and the power imbalance.

      I do think Charles comes across pretty bad though, especially when Diana makes an effort to stop the affairs and Charles still completely ignores her.

    • February-Pisces says:

      That’s why I think Charles got lucky with josh playing him, he was more boyish, soft and charming at times whilst the real thing was cold, charmless and dull. I think Charles has softened over the years and seems more relaxed and less stiff.

      I think in the early scenes between josh and Emma, they seemed to have real chemistry, Charles seems genuinely intrigued by the young Diana, and then he randomly goes cold. In the Diana tapes, Diana herself said that Charles would always blow hot and cold with her.

      I don’t think there was anyway of telling this story where Charles and Camilla look good, but they can’t change history or their actions.

      • Becks1 says:

        That’s something I do not think the series portrays well – Charles is certainly intrigued by Diana from the very beginning, when she is in costume at her house – and then again at the polo match – and then all of a sudden he’s like, oh no, I cant stand her and don’t want to marry her. I think there should have been some bridge in between the two.

      • JT says:

        The boyish looks of Josh does negate how predatory it all was. Making the Diana and Charles actors look close in age makes everything look more innocent than reality. Charles was a 30 year old man who looked 30, maybe even a bit older. Although josh is very charming and good in his role, an older actor would have conveyed the power imbalance visually as well, which would have underlined how innocent Diana was and how wrong is was.

    • Tessa says:

      The show did stress that Diana did want the marriage to work out. It was Charles’ way or the highway. Diana told Settelen there was no sexual affair with Mannakee, and she only moved on when the marriage was hopeless. I think it was over except for appearances as far as Charles was concerned once he had the heir and spare. Had they waited to start a family, there of course would be more years before Charles dropped Diana.

  14. Amy Bee says:

    Yeah, the story is just tone-deaf. It would have been better if the source close to Camilla had not said anything. It would be great if Charles and Camilla would say that they had regrets about what they did but I don’t think they believe they did anything wrong.

    • Lorelei says:

      Truly every SINGLE member of this family as well as everyone on all of their staffs have the absolute worst PR instincts. It would have been much better, imo, for Camilla to say (even through “sources”) absolutely nothing about this and just wait for it to blow over. This family keeps shooting themselves in the foot at every opportunity.

  15. Ariel says:

    I am so disgusted with every member of the royal family for their treatment of Diana as a 19-20 year old girl. Mostly Charles. He never loved her, never knew her, and blamed her his unhappiness and for keeping him from Camilla. When in truth his family, and his spinelessness dictated his choices.

    • Lady D says:

      He’s been spineless for a long, long time. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s asked mommy to stick around because he’s afraid of the job.

  16. Lemons says:

    Camilla is winning the PR game here. As with everyone else in the country and the world who has Netflix, Camilla is going to watch the series. It may reflect poorly on her, but its fiction. After all she is a MINOR player in the grand scheme of things. She’s just along for the ride however involved she was/wasn’t in Charles’ first marriage.

    The others in the family should follow suit instead of proclaiming what they will and won’t watch. They haven’t made their Netflix viewing preferences known before, so why should they now?

    • HeatherC says:

      I’m waiting for a “palace source close to Prince Philip” say “of course the Duke of Edinburgh isn’t going to watch this program but he does plan to Netflix and chill with Penny this weekend”

    • L84Tea says:

      I won’t lie, Camilla has always fascinated me. I don’t know if I love her or loathe her, but she fascinates me to no end. I’m currently listening to “The Duchess” on audible, a biography about her.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        I have the same fascination with both Camilla Cornwall and Andrew Parker Bowles as individuals.

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      I don’t think she’s winning at all. She is all the more loathed as the series has dredged up her man stealing ways with lots of middle aged women and a new generation. Plus she is now stuck with a philandering man who thinks her greatest achievement is loving him.

      • Lemons says:

        She has always been loathed. She has been through this before, and she doesn’t care if she’s viewed positively or not. The cards will fall where they may for her. I think she has accepted that.

        She is literally telling us, she will take in what has been dramatized about her life and move on. It’s entertainment. If we can’t take it as such, with a glass of wine, that is on us.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @Lemons – Excellent explanation!

    • molly says:

      Camilla has always known the PR game. I don’t think this show will change many opinions about her. If you hate her, you’ll still hate her. If you think what she did sucks, but you recognize that she wears kicky, giant hats and seems to get on with very old veterans extremely well, you’ll probably continue to feel that way too.

    • Mignionette says:

      Camilla is an old style Aristo, she knows how to play the game including when to fold and sit back. In any case she strikes me as the sort of woman who whilst she doesn’t want to be hated, doesn’t necessarily care what the peasants think.

      I’d also say that about Charles. What Charles is really worried about is whether he can now make Camilla Queen as opposed to just Princess Consort. Camilla doesn’t style herself as the PoW because of Diana and now there is a chance that Diana will snatch Queen Consort from her from beyond the grave in the court of public opinion.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Camilla will be the Duchess of Lancaster.

      • Becks1 says:

        Nah, at the very least she’ll be princess consort. She’s had to deny her princess title for too long as it is (in the eyes of Charles.)

      • Mignionette says:

        @BayTampaBay that is a very interesting take…..

        It will be interesting to see if he upgrades her to Princess Consort Prince Philip style or even Queen Consort.

        If she remains a Duchess then when not in the presence of Chuck wouldn’t she need to curtsy to other female members of the BRF, which potentially would cause embarrassment to Chuck the Monarch ?

        @Becks the way things are going I don’t think Chuck would risk rocking the boat if public opinion was so outwardly against him….

    • Beck says:

      I agree she is winning- and she looks sane. She knows the show is fiction and she knows a lot of people will be angry but so what.

      Also she doesn’t come off that bad in it, Charles does, but outside lunch Camilla doesn’t. She comes off like an Aristocrat who knows the rules and felt Diana would too.

      Diana didn’t and the vast majority of people outside of that weird circle would agree with Diana.

    • Lorelei says:

      I disagree that Camilla is winning any PR points with this. She may not care (which makes her an immoral, shameless person imo), but the overwhelming response to this season has been a renewal of sympathy for Diana and renewed disgust with Charles and Camilla. It’s all over Twitter that this is educating an entirely new generation as to how awful Charles is and how everything went down with Diana. People who weren’t even born yet when she died now know how horribly both Charles and Camilla acted and the impact it had on Diana.

      If Camilla doesn’t care that’s she’s despised by half the world for the way she behaved, good for her, I guess, but personally, I would be sick with guilt. Charles is still the one who shoulders the most blame because he’s the one who dragged poor Diana into all this when she was so young and made vows to her that he wasn’t intending to keep, but Camilla certainly helped to cause Diana enormous amounts of pain.

      As for the “it’s fiction” argument— well sure, some of it is since Peter Morgan wasn’t there the entire time. But I don’t think anyone is arguing that the show didn’t get the gist of it correct. Charles married Diana knowing he didn’t love her and having no intention of being faithful to her, cheated on her, Camilla was openly cruel — that is all true and proven. Sure there’s some creative license taken with the timeline and dialogue, but no one at the palace is disputing the main story here because we all know it’s true and have since the 1980’s.

      • Becks1 says:

        Agreed. I said somewhere else that while I don’t think Camilla looks great in this series, she doesn’t look as bad as she could have. But overall, this series IS bringing up the past and is reminding people what happened and teaching an entirely new generation about it at the same time. She and Charles are not the winners here.

        And agree too with the “its fiction” argument – well, of course parts of it are. But the gist is right and that’s why the royal family is so nervous about this.

        NOW, what I will say, is that I think it sounds better to say “well she watched the other seasons, so she’ll watch this one too” then to insist that the Crown is just too beneath the royals and they would NEVER EVER watch it.

    • Tessa says:

      It was not “fiction” totally. From sources that I have, they DID meet up at hunts and after parties. And they would disappear together. Stephen Barry, Charles valet who worked closely with the Prince, said Charles would sneak calls to Camilla when he was on honeymoon with Diana. They never were out of touch, so the show got that right. He was emotionally unfaithful to Diana at the very least. Camilla IMO has a certain arrogance about her. She tipped her hand back in 2017 when she moaned about not being able to leave the house when Diana died. She does not apparently want to admit any responsibility on her part and I think not the least sorry. She is a confidante of Penny Junor who writes very laudatory books about Camilla and trashes Diana. That speaks volumes to me. It was better NOT to have any comment about Camilla watching, and she should have just kept quiet as well as her “sources.” A nice person would have backed off once her lover got engaged and left the wife alone not playing “friend to her.”

  17. Steve says:

    I am a big fan of Netflix’ alternate series, The Windsors and I think the way Camilla is portrayed on there is pretty accurate. She got what she wanted indeed. If you remember Kate and Wills’ wedding, it was pretty obvious the minute she stepped out of the car that she was tipsy. She was disoriented and you know she’d had champagne for breakfast! I have no respect for her at all!!

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      She’s always drank, smokes like chimney and is reported to be a gossip too. Yes she got what she wanted but I’m glad her name is mud and will always be mud.

    • Sunday says:

      Every time Fergie on The Windsors says “Hello, girls!” I absolutely erupt in laughter. Same with Meghan and “Sewts,” sooo funny.

  18. L84Tea says:

    I finished watching season 4 yesterday and it’s astounding how parallel it all is. There were many, many moments where I felt like they could slide Meghan’s name into where Diana’s was and it was the same situation. They’re absolutely pissing themselves about this season because it’s showing the audience LOUD AND CLEAR that H&M were not surrounded by anyone who had their best interests in mind.

    • Elizabeth Regina says:

      I am so glad H and M have been vindicated to the wider world. Of course some racists in the UK are still bleating about duty but I am glad they are safe and no longer under the coercive control of that family.

    • Darla says:

      Yep, this is looming large as well. Not only destroying the glow up Charles and Camilla gave themselves, but using Diana to shine a telling light on how Meghan was treated. I love that this has them pissing themselves. They should piss themselves!

  19. Untamed says:

    If Camilla is watching, then it must be while alone at Ray Mill.
    I think she wouldn’t dare watch it with Charles around.

    • Lady D says:

      I don’t think it would take much to cow Charles, truthfully. I think she does what she wants. I do remember shortly after their marriage, an article about Charles exploding with rage over the fact that Cammy wasn’t working as hard as she was supposed to be.

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        Guess where PwBT gets it from. Seems “incandescent rage” comes on the Y chromosome 😄

  20. Likeyoucare says:

    Why would she be angry or upset, she will be lauded and admired by the autocrats because of what she did.
    Those people had no shame about the sancity of marriege.

  21. Harper says:

    Camilla is 73 years old. At this point, she’s probably over caring about her reputation. She knows this silly furor over a television show will blow over and it isn’t worth her energy to do anything other than treat it as a lark.

    As for how she treated Diana, she may have regrets, she may have personally worked to make peace with it, or not. Since she hasn’t made a public mea culpa at this point, I don’t ever expect her to now.

  22. NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

    I’ve always felt Camilla gets a bit unfairly tarnished. Yes, she cheated on her cheater husband with Charles. Charles was also obsessed with Camilla. Yes, she was in on Diana’s destruction…by virtue of her presence and being the one Charles was actually in love/obsessed with. The only reason it wasn’t considered stalking is because Charles is a prince.

    I don’t feel Camilla actually has a lot to be ashamed of except that she chose to spend the rest of her life with a man who was cruelly deceptive with his first wife and humiliated her. It’s not her fault Charles screwed up everything when it came to Diana. She’s no saint or victim but I think Camilla tried to keep it as classy and cordial as possible given the circumstances. The classiest thing would have been to walk away from Charles but he was in no way going to allow her that opportunity. Charles was obsessed with her.

    • Darla says:

      He was obsessed with her, yet he had other lovers and emotional attachments. Maybe he is just obsessed with a nurturing mother figure and she best filled that role for him, wittingly or unwittingly I do not know. But I don’t put it past her to have knowingly played that up.

      • NotSoSimpleTaylor says:

        Camilla plays her own games with Charles. I just think it’s best to separate Charles’ women. Charles being a cad is not really their fault even if they had knowledge of it.

      • Jaded says:

        I think you’re onto something Darla. Because he didn’t get the nurturing he needed from either parent he was a sitting duck for someone to provide him with that kind of love. Maybe that’s why William is so close to Carole Midd, she cossets him that way Diana did and filled the gap that Charles couldn’t/wouldn’t fill after her death.

      • A says:

        @Darla, that’s exactly what it is. I feel like I’m going to be referencing Tina Browns book up and down the comments today, but it is a great resource and it nails a lot of the elements of Charles personality and why he liked Camilla at all. Tina Brown explains that she had a confidence and self-assured nature that he found attractive, and also that she was nurturing and caring in a way that he desperately needed.

        Interestingly enough, Diana’s caring and empathetic nature is also the reason why Charles warmed to her initially. She expressed how sad she felt watching him at Mountbatten’s funeral and he really liked that. I don’t think he would have considered her as a potential wife if she hadn’t said those things. And Diana, as much as she saw a fairy tale in Charles, also saw him as someone she can “fix” and take care of in her own way, which she wanted on her own end.

    • Tessa says:

      Camilla got to keep her residence, she has a place to go. How much time she spends with Charles now is subject to speculation. Diana never had that luxury of a place to retreat to during her marriage to Charles.

    • Thirtynine says:

      If you read the transcript of the tampax phone call between Charles and Camilla she is spoon feeding him flattery and he is just gobbling it up.

  23. JT says:

    I’m really tired of the narrative that Charles was forced to marry Diana, and he didn’t think things through. He was grown ass man at 30 marrying a 19 year old. If he didn’t want to marry her, buck up and find a more suitable wife. My goodness. Grow a spine. He should not get any passes and certainly not more than Diana.

    • Exactly JT! In bio after bio and his friends leaking comments to reporters, Charles blames Phillip’s letter to him ordering him to marry Diana. And yet, in bio after bio and in articles, the majority of Phillip’s letter to Charles has been revealed as saying to his chronically DITHERING son: don’t string Diana along, the public is getting to invested in her for you to do that to her. Make a decision to marry her or cut her loose. Charles has always been determined to use that advice as his father ordering him to marry her. What I see is a father who knows his son would rather coast and not worry about anything and Phillip’s real concern for what was happening to Diana. For a man who constantly tells us all how spiritual and self-realized he is, Charles always seems to blame ANYONE but himself for his own actions and decisions.

      • Tessa says:

        Exactly! Charles plays the blame game and does not accept responsibility. Philip gave Charles sound advice and hardly was forcing him to do something. Charles should have let Diana go if he could never love her.

    • Nedsdag says:

      Hear! Hear! I’ve been lurking around here and it is about time someone mentions that Charles was the ADULT in this situation. He should’ve known better. When he was interviewed regarding when was the right time to marry. He said, “probably 30”. When he turned 30 and there were no legitimate prospects, what did he expect?

      I wish Charles had the cojones at the time to tell everyone, “I’ll marry when I’m bloddy ready!” Unfortunately for him, this part of his life will a part of his legacy, even when he becomes King.

  24. Lowrider says:

    “Leading royal historians and experts have dismissed it as fiction but Netflix is playing a dangerous game..”

    sure. was it a dangerous game when the media and experts trashed Meghan and Harry?

    • GuestWho says:

      It’s very telling that a dramatization of actual events on TV is being held to a higher standard of accuracy than the entirety of the UK media.

  25. Elizabeth says:

    The show is a fictionalized version of real events. It’s not as simple as just “it’s fiction.” In fact that’s untrue to say. The royal family really did act this way to Diana. They really are self-centered hypocrites who hang on to the remnants of their power at all costs. They don’t care if Andrew raped an enslaved, trafficked teenager — they care that he got exposed.

    • Another Anna says:

      “They really are self-centered hypocrites who hang on to the remnants of their power at all costs.”

      Yes, exactly! To me, The Hereditary Principle is the episode that shows it best. Regardless of fact, the Windsors will sacrifice anyone and everyone in service of The Crown. And they keep making the same mistake over and over and over again. They cling to tradition without critical thought. All the money in the world can’t stop them from behaving like the useless, trashy set dressing they are.

  26. Amber says:

    Camilla comes off terribly in the lunch scene with Diana (which we know really happened) and I hold her somewhat responsible because she continued with the affair knowing it was destroying this young girl’s chance at making her marriage work. Even so she comes off a lot more sensible than Charles, and what people forget is that she didn’t *want* to leave her husband. Andrew Parker-Bowles was the love of her life by many accounts, and he was unfaithful to her as well. I’ve come around to Camilla in the sense that it clearly always should have been her that Charles married. But while the lion’s share of responsibility lies with Charles, Camilla knowingly continued their affair, and everyone close to them saw how hard that was for Diana.

  27. Dee Kay says:

    Camilla and Charles’ “treatment” of Diana — recruiting her to be a pretty face and to breed princes, without her knowledge — was truly awful and cruel, but understandable given the history of aristocratic marriages and affairs. But the truly unforgivable thing in my view was the way Charles resented Diana for being popular. More popular than him. What a small-minded, petty, egotistical control freak, to marry a beautiful young woman and to despise her for turning out to be charming, warm, and charismatic. Diana was the best asset the Crown ever had and if Charles had thanked her, expressed appreciation for her work with the public, showed gratitude for her helping to move the institution into the 20th century, instead of hating her for her own gifts, I think the “romance” side of things (or lack thereof) could have just been a footnote in their marriage. They could have managed to go forward as good business partners, and both had affairs on the side (incidentally, I think this is what Camilla was *hoping* for — a best-case scenario). It was because Charles despised Diana for her core competencies, her real strengths, the work of public relations that she really believed in and was amazing at, that the marriage was a tragedy, and Charles, an evil man.

    • GuestwithCat says:

      I totally agree with what you said. All of it.

    • S808 says:

      THIS! 100000%

    • Lorelei says:

      @Dee Kay, totally agree with you and I think the timing is extremely fortuitous for the Sussexes — many people are watching this and seeing the parallels between Diana and Meghan. I think having this story on people’s minds again really validates Harry’s decision to leave the family (most of us here already thought it was the right thing to do, but I’m thinking of people who don’t follow it as closely).
      There’s just no way you can watch it and not come away thinking that Meghan was treated similarly by this cold family because she was so charismatic and popular from day one, outshining them all. The only difference is that instead of being jealous and resentful, Harry was proud and supportive.

    • A says:

      Tbf though, Camilla didn’t do as much of the recruiting. This was on Charles and the rest of the royal family, who honestly have escaped scrutiny for how they assess and permit relationships for ppl in the family. Camilla had a vested interest and Charles unloaded himself on her during the process—but one of the many reasons the marriage went ahead was bc the Queen, her courtiers and the grey suits approved of it. If they had opposed the marriage, which they should have, or if Charles had opposed it more strongly, I don’t think it would have ever happened. But nothing happens without the silent, tacit approval of a lot of different elements. In that context, Camilla didn’t hold as much power or impact as the show would make the audience think.

    • February-Pisces says:

      It’s incredibly short sighted of Charles not to have capitalised on Diana’s popularity at the time. If he had solidly supported her they could have been an amazing dynamic power couple. Instead he got competitive and chose to make her an enemy, which essentially caused their fanbase to split into two. The same happened with Willie, Kate, harry and Meghan. If only the Cambridge’s accepted her they could have been a dynamic foursome, but no. As a result the Cambridge’s lost half their fanbase leaving only racists, right wingers and baby boomers behind. One thing I will say about the kardashian family is that they understand the concept of sticking together. You mess with one, you mess with all of them.

  28. Liz version 700 says:

    She is just like Charles, no feelings at all about the evil that they did to that 19 year old girl. Just so gross.

    • Tessa says:

      She wanted what Diana had and got it. Penny Junor said Camilla and CHarles cooperate with her on her books and all her books are Diana bashing books, even when they are about someone else. PErhaps now would be the time for Junor to write another “tribute” to Camilla.

  29. L4frimaire says:

    If she watches it, maybe it will inspire her to switch up that same hairstyle she’s had since 1974, which carried into the 80s and she wears to this day. She’s where she is and quite comfortable, so why not have a watch. There are so many contemporary figures who have had their lives dramatized quite soon after recent events, whether it’s George W. Bush, the various captains Tom Hanks plays, or Gianni Versace. Why should these people be treated any differently, especially since these events are over 30 years old. The royals think the rest of the world reveres them as much as they revere themselves. It’s ridiculous and once again, they are overreacting. Who exactly are they railing against here and what exactly do they think will happen? So lame.

  30. Larisa says:

    Does anyone know if the lunch actually took place in “Menage a trois” or if that’s fictionalized, for further impact? That seems like it’d be tooooo obvious?

    • Sofia says:

      The restaurant itself existed at the time but I don’t know if they specifically had lunch together at that restaurant

      • A says:

        They did have a meal at a restaurant and they did talk abt Charles. Tina Brown mentions it in her book. What’s interesting actually is that the convo in the show is different from what reportedly took place in real life, and in my perspective, the fictionalized version makes Camilla look a lot better.

        If the accounts are to be believed, Camilla in real life was definitely using the lunch as a means of sizing up Diana and whether she could be a threat to her and Charles relationship. At one point, Camilla reportedly asked Diana point blank if she hunts—because that is a shared interest between Charles and Camilla. When Diana replied no, she felt relieved because she this meant Diana would not be encroaching on what Camilla felt was “her” territory with Charles, and therefore would not be a threat.

        Really the show made everyone look a lot more decent IMO.

      • Nibbi says:

        The documentary on Netflix called “Diana In Her Own Words” has tapes of Diana herself from the interview with Morton where she described that lunch. It seems like that scene in the show was pretty close to what she said about their conversation.

  31. Tessa says:

    Camilla actually HAD to do work as a senior royal. It is nothing heroic but that said she does more than Kate who is years younger.

  32. A says:

    Look—I know Camilla is not a nice person. But, in a way, I do try to forgive some of her follies. Not all of them, but some, bc I think at least she tries to be introspective in some ways that Charles just is not willing to do. And I do respect her for watching, if she watches, bc goodness knows, Charles needs to chill the fuck out.

    That being said—I binged it yesterday. I liked it but I wasn’t as taken by the portrayal of Diana as I though. The show is abt the Queen though, not Charles and Diana, so I can understand why the full contours of the relationship was not portrayed—the focus is to show how it impacts the Queen. But it all felt lacking to me in a lot of ways. I think Josh O’Connor tried very hard and he did a good job of showing how earnest and awkward Charles is. And I LOVED the shade during Andrews wedding LMAO. That was so good.

    But Charles did not look bad tbh. It could have been so much worse. SO much worse. He came off more pathetic than anything. An emotionally constipated person who just wanted care and lashed out at the wrong person as a result. For someone in the audience who is more forgiving of that sort of thing, he is not really the villain at all. The show makes the case that none of them are. That the institution is what dehumanizes them and makes them this way, more than anything. I don’t fully agree with that. The Queen is the center of the institution. She could have done a lot differently and decided not to and won’t hear any criticism of it either. That puts the responsibility on her.

    Also—the scenes with Diana and her kids made me tear up. The one thing I thought was 100% accurate was the portrayal of Diana as a mother. How protective and fierce she was over William in episode 6. William should watch the show for that alone. His mother fought for him, for him and his brother, to be as whole as possible, to shake off the shackles of an institution that ruins its kids the most. He’s one of the few people left who knew her, really knew her. He has complicated feelings abt his relationship with his mother and that is his right at the end of the day. But you can’t deny that she didn’t love him. And now I’m making myself sad.

    I am not happy abt Thatchers portrayal. The show has an international audience. People who don’t know jack shit abt Thatcher will (& have) walked away thinking she’s some type of victim when she was not. This is why I hate Peter Morgan and his writing—he makes people who aren’t good people look good and sympathetic. Thatcher was an actual disgusting person, but you wouldn’t know that from the show if you weren’t British. He did this with Tony Blair too. I needed a drink myself after the series ended.

    • Myra says:

      Thatcher comes off really horrible in the show. Yes, she is used as a conduit to criticise the royals. Intellectually, Thatcher appeared to be sharper, though from the acting you would be forgiven for thinking she was recovering from a stroke. The royals appeared snobbish and ridiculous with their silly iddle dibble game. However, for the most part she was portrayed as staunchly anti-feminist, power hungry and racist (her position on apartheid). She is also a horrible parent. The few times she displayed human emotions were when she was feeling sorry for herself.

      • A says:

        Does she? I felt like Peter Morgan was way too soft on her. But that’s just me. I’m glad the reality of who she was did come through though. That’s good to hear.

      • Myra says:

        Yup. In fact, the entire episode of Fagan can be seen as a criticism of Thatcherism. Fagan was also one of the most sympathetic characters in the show, so it helped to drive the point as to just how horrible Thatcher’s policies were.

      • Nibbi says:

        I think Thatcher was portrayed sympathetically in the introductory parts of the season, but the “Fagan” episode was damning.
        Hell, just the facts of her policies are damning, forget television portrayals.

    • mosi says:

      Saying that a person who lost a parent at 15 could really know that person, is quite frankly astounding. I lost a mother at 17, after her battle with cancer, and today I no longer know what were my experiences, imaginations and hearsay, I can’t even imagine how it must be for Wiliam with so many narratives about his mother. Love is also so very often not enough.