Prince William is said to have grown closer to his stepmother Queen Camilla as they deal with King Charles and the Princess of Wales’ cancer news – but it has been reported that their bond was not always as solid
They are the two most senior royals who have been steering the Royal Family as both King Charles and the Princess of Wales receive cancer treatment.
And it seems that not only are Queen Camilla and Prince William leading from the front as their spouses take time away from public-facing duties, but have also been brought “closer together” by recent events. The pair were seen standing shoulder to shoulder leading the Royal Family at the annual Commonwealth Day service last month and are set to be the most senior royals out on engagements in the weeks ahead. However, it is believed that William’s relationship with his stepmum and indeed his dad Charles has not been the easiest over the years. So how did they turn their relationship around?
Charles and Camilla went public with their relationship in the early 2000s – several years after the death of William’s late mother Princess Diana – but he and younger brother Prince Harry were not pictured with her in public until 2001.
In her book Prince William: Born to be King, a palace source tells royal biographer Penny Junor: “I think the relationship between them all is warm now but if I’m honest, it wasn’t then. I think they found it hard. To be fair to Camilla, she never tried to be mummy but she was the ‘other woman’ and she was there and taking daddy’s time.”
Meanwhile, back in 2022, a source told the Daily Mail: “There were huge family rows in the early stages of Charles and Camilla’s marriage as everyone found their feet. William didn’t have the best relationship with his father back then.”
In recent years though, this frostiness appears to have thawed and event William and Charles are said to have a much closer relationship “built on love, affection and respect”. This has apparently been forged in part by William’s wife Kate, who helped smooth over father and son relations and invited Charles to spend more time with his grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
And even though William is not reported to be “particularly close” to Camilla they enjoy a good supportive relationship and he realises that she makes his dad happy. A source previously told the Daily Mail: “He is not particularly close to his stepmother but they get on perfectly well and are quite the blended family now.”
Now as both William and Camilla see their spouses through cancer treatment, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! they’ve become “unlikely allies”. She added: “Recent events have obviously brought Prince William and Queen Camilla much closer. They have been left, almost literally, nursing the crown while the King and the Princess recover.
“And while Camilla and William put on a brave face for the world (and no doubt for their spouses too), there may be times when they confide in one another about how they are dealing with it all.
“As an adolescent, William took his time to accept Camilla as ‘the other woman’ in his father’s life. His feelings towards her were complicated, having witnessed his mother’s unhappiness in marriage. But maturity brought with it the realisation that Camilla makes his father extremely happy… and the Prince knows now that she is the love of his life.”
