Prince Charles and Camilla have now been happily married since 2005, however in the years following Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997 the pair struggled to find acceptance for their relationship, which had been ongoing during Charles and Diana’s marriage. In those difficult days, even the Queen had her doubts, reportedly wanting Camilla “gone” from her son’s life. The Duchess of Cornwall faced a frosty reception from the public, too, however Prince William proved to be key in winning acceptance for her, according to a royal author. 

Biographer Andrew Morton, in his 2011 book “William and Catherine”, claims that William was used strategically by Clarence House to gain positive coverage of Camilla as Charles’ new partner. 

Mr Morton writes: “While William instinctively wanted to be left alone, Camilla deliberately kept a low profile, as courtiers carefully introduced her to the wider world.

“Prince William was, as Diana’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson points out, effectively used as her ‘human shield’, information about the young prince being given out for favourable coverage of Charles and Camilla.”

Mr Morton also writes how William’s acceptance was crucial in paving the way for public attitudes to soften towards Camilla.

He continues: “The pivotal moment was the first meeting between William, whose looks and manner made him the living embodiment of the dead Princess, and her arch-rival, Charles’ mistress.

“This encounter finally took place a few days before his sixteenth birthday, on Friday June 12 at St James’s Palace.”

Royal author Penny Junor, in her 2017 biography “The Duchess”, writes that this first encounter “caught them all on the hop”.

Ms Junor writes: “Camilla was with (personal assistant) Amanda and feeling decidedly anxious, as they all were.”

However, Prince Charles “took her upstairs, introduced her to his son and left them alone to talk”.

“About half an hour later, Camilla came out saying, ‘I need a gin and tonic!’”

A few weeks later, William had asked Camilla to join him with Charles and Harry on a Mediterranean yachting holiday.

Mr Morton writes: “The signs were clear. The young prince’s presence in Camilla’s company was forgiveness for perceived as transgressions.

“For the watching media and the public, the subtext was obvious: if William could forgive, so could the rest of the world.”

However, before the princes and Camilla and her children settled down into what would become a happy blended family, there were some emotional arguments.

Royal biographer Katie Nicholl, in her 2010 book “William and Harry” describes how William had “terrible fights” with Laura Parker Bowles.

Ms Nicholl writes: “William and Laura used to have terrible fights over who was to blame for their broken homes.”

She reports how a family friend said: “William would blame Camilla for all the hurt she had caused his mother, which would send Laura into a rage.

“Laura was not having any of it. She would take a hard line and fire back at William ‘your father has ruined my life.’”

However the pair went on to repair their relationship and were seen beaming together in their parents’ 2005 wedding portraits.

Both William and Prince Harry were at Laura’s marriage to Harry Lopes in 2006, and most recently Laura was a guest at Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 royal wedding.

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