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TL;DR: 

  • Prince Harry called Camilla Parker Bowles “dangerous” in his Spare memoir. 
  • He also accused his stepmother of sacrificing him on her “personal PR altar.” 
  • Camilla Parker Bowles’ reaction to Spare didn’t reportedly include “stamping of feet or gnashing of teeth.” 
  • “Of course, it bothers her, of course, it hurts,” a friend of Camilla’s said in an April 2023 report. 
Camilla Parker Bowles, whose 'Spare' reaction reportedly included an 'eye-roll,' stands with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and King Charles III
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, King Charles III, and Camilla Parker Bowles | Isabel Infantes/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Prince Harry’s Spare memoir included a lot of bombshells and accusations when it debuted in January 2023. However, none of the Duke of Sussex’s remarks aimed at Camilla Parker Bowles are said to have gotten much more than an “eye-roll” from his stepmother.  

Prince Harry’s comments about Camilla Parker Bowles in ‘Spare’

Prince William may have received the brunt of Harry’s accusations in Spare with many searing comments but he wasn’t alone. The soon-to-be queen Camilla also came under fire.

Harry recalled how he and his brother begged their father, King Charles III, not to marry the queen consort before their 2005 wedding

He also claimed Camilla, now 75, seemed somewhat disinterested when they first met. Because, after all, it was a “mere formality.”

Harry also described Camilla as “dangerous” in her efforts to move away from her “villain” image. Furthermore, he claimed, Camilla seemed to have “sacrificed” him on her “personal PR altar” to do it. 

Camilla reportedly ‘doesn’t let’ Harry’s book ‘get to her’ 


The release of Harry’s memoir, which quickly became not only a bestseller but a record-breaking title, didn’t faze Camilla. At least according to the Marchioness of Lansdowne, a friend of Camilla’s and recently named “Queen’s Companion.” 

“Of course, it bothers her, of course, it hurts,” Lansdowne told The Times. “But she doesn’t let it get to her. Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down—least said, soonest mended.'”

Meanwhile, an “aide” described Camilla’s reaction to Harry’s memoir as being far from dramatic. “It was not stamping of feet or gnashing of teeth,” they said. “It was much more of an eye-roll response.”

1 of Harry’s criticisms shows how smart Camilla Parker Bowles is, according to a ‘former courtier’ 

Camilla Parker Bowles, whose reaction to 'Spare' included an 'eye-roll,' stands with Prince Harry
Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Harry | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Harry slammed Camilla for having chummy relationships with British tabloids in Spare. However, a “former courtier” told the outlet it’s a sign of how smart Camilla is regarding her public image. 

“She’s been smart and set out to win them over, including her critics, and she achieved it,” they said. “Not with sly tricks,” the “former courtier” continued. 

“Just by taking an interest in their lives and being at ease with them in a way other members of the family aren’t. She was always more like a politician, thinking, ‘How do I make this work for me?'” 

Meanwhile, Harry dismissed the so-called “scathing” description of Camilla in his memoir. “There’s no part of any of the things that I’ve said are scathing towards [sic] any member of my family, especially not my stepmother,” he said in a January 2023 Spare promotional interview.

“There are things that have happened that have been incredibly hurtful,” he added. “Some in the past, some current.”

For the first time since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, Harry will be reunited with many royals — Camilla included — at the coronation on May 6, 2023.