Prince Harry’s cruel two-word insult against Camilla went too far for Charles

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle evicted from Frogmore Cottage last year – and it may have all come down to a two-word insult directed at Queen Consort Camilla.

King Charles asked his son and daughter-in-law out of the home, which was gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II – as the monarch is said to have believed Harry “crossed a line”. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “requested to vacate” their UK home in a move that has reportedly left them “stunned”. Sources said the King was outraged by a string of Harry’s accusations in his controversial memoir, in particular his attacks on his wife.

There were more than 60 mentions of Camilla in Spare – and the Duke of Sussex does not hold back his dislike for ‘the Other Woman’. But his particularly cruel comments were regarding her becoming his “wicked stepmother”. Towards the start of the book, Harry explains what life was like after his mother, Princess Diana, died and how his father, King Charles, began to move on.

Prince Harry gave a scathing review of stepmother Queen Consort Camilla ( Image: WireImage)

Harry says he sensed the presence of ‘the Other Woman’, and that his brother, Prince William, long harboured suspicions about her which confused and tormented him. After using the phrase four times in half a page, Harry finally reveals that ‘the Other Woman’ is in fact Queen Consort Camilla. Harry once pondered if she would become his ‘wicked stepmother’ and says she would throw people under the bus to sit on the throne – and even turned his bedroom into her dressing room.

He claimed he and William begged Charles not to marry Camilla but they said they would welcome her into the family. The Duke of Sussex confessed he eventually only wanted Camilla to be happy so she could be less “dangerous”. In a TV interview, Harry added: “She was the villain. She was the third person in their marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image.”

Royal sources have claimed Charles took decisive action immediately after being passed a dossier of findings by aides revealing details from the explosive book. An insider said: “It was the last straw. Harry was well aware how Camilla would be a red line for his father and he crossed with flagrant disregard anyway. The King felt without a doubt it crossed a line – it was the ultimate act of disrespect.”

One royal expert believes Charles has gone against the wishes of his late mother the Queen, who tried to keep Harry on board – and she adds that the “optics are terrible”. Royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop told the Mirror: “Britain’s response to the news has, on the whole, been gleeful. On one level the vitriol is understandable.

“Prince Harry had just lobbed several verbal hand grenades at his family and the former institution to which he belonged. But he did so from a position of weakness, on the outside, in pain and feeling side-lined. A broad-shouldered confident monarchy would have weathered the storm. Instead, by evicting the couple from the Queen’s generous gift of Frogmore Cottage King Charles is going directly against the conciliatory style of Her late Majesty.

“Worse, he has conflated the problem of the Sussexes with that of Prince Andrew by asking the latter to relinquish his larger home, the Royal Lodge, and move into Frogmore Cottage. Big mistake. The optics are terrible.” Even though Tessa admits that public opinion in this country may be on the King’s side, she thinks the move could “diminish” the monarchy just weeks before the Coronation. She added: “The late Queen tried hard to keep Harry on board. Frogmore Cottage was part of that package. She was likewise lenient with Andrew.

“Charles, in his effort to stamp authority on his reign, has undone those efforts, and by conflating the separate issues of Harry and Andrew through the prism of Frogmore Cottage it looks like our King cares more for his disgraced brother, than his conflicted son and foreign daughter-in-law. The court of mainstream public opinion may currently be on the King’s side, but internationally this move diminishes our monarchy just weeks before invitations go out to Britain’s biggest state ceremony of 2023, the coronation. An event where you can now look forward to seeing Prince Andrew, but probably not the Sussexes.”