The queen consort stands by her husband…
As Prince Harry and King Charles’ reportedly take steps to heal their rift – where does Queen Camilla stand with the duke and Meghan Markle?
The queen has been Charles’ right-hand confidant for many years as a supportive wife, being at his side for the death of his parents as well as the breakdown of his relationship with his second-born son.
However, after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, and the claims he made against Queen Camilla in his memoir, where does that leave the royal?
Queen Camilla ‘stays out of it’ when it comes to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The royal rift came to light before Meghan and Harry left The Firm, during their first official royal tour. In 2019, after giving birth to Prince Archie, the Duchess of Sussex told TV crews that no one had asked how she was doing since joining the royal family.
Prince Harry also made headlines by appearing to allude to a strained relationship with his brother William during the trip. While he said they were moving in different directions, ‘they’ll always be brothers’.
By January 2020, the couple announced they were stepping back from their roles and headed for a new life in America.
Their high-profile interviews, bombshell Netflix docuseries and Harry’s memoir Spare appeared to rock the boat even further. The royal family only ever responded to their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, where they released a rare statement declaring ‘while recollections may vary’ they would deal with the allegations ‘as a family’.
A royal source came out to say in July 2025 that Queen Camilla ‘stays out of it’ when it comes to the rift with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
But it doesn’t seem smooth-sailing where reconciliation is concerned for the other members of The Firm.
Prince Harry and Queen Camilla’s complicated relationship
In his memoir, the Duke of Sussex revealed he felt mixed emotions over his father’s relationship with Camilla. He claims he and William begged their father not to marry her.
The dad-of-two also accused the royal of leaking stories about him in the press to keep the spotlight away from her.
He wrote: “I had complex feelings about gaining a stepparent, who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
He doubled-down on this allegations during an interview with Good Morning America to promote his book.
Harry claimed: “She had a reputation or an image to rehabilitate, and whatever conversations happened, whatever deals or trading was made right at the beginning, she was led to believe that that would be the best way to doing it.”
When he was asked about his relationship with Queen Camilla, Prince Harry seemed to reveal he and Meghan Markle don’t have one with the king’s wife.
He said: “We haven’t spoken for a long time. I love every member of my family, despite the differences. So when I see her, we’re perfectly pleasant with each other. She’s my stepmother. I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother. I see someone who married into this institution, and done everything she can to improve her own reputation and her own image, for her own sake.”

Queen ‘can’t forgive Sussexes’ over their treatment of Charles
It comes after royal expert Camilla Tominey wrote in The Telegraph in 2021 that the then Duchess of Cornwall wouldn’t forgive the duo for their ‘attacks’ in the media.
Ms Tominey said the insider claimed: “I don’t think the Duchess will ever forgive Meghan for what she’s done to the Prince of Wales.”
Another source said that Charles was deeply affected by Harry’s comments and found it “really hard”.
An insider added: “When he [Charles] becomes king, she’ll understand the need to be by his side – as the Duke of Edinburgh was for the Queen – and I don’t think she’s daunted by that.”
Harry’s pleas to speak to his father
Prince Harry recently made a televised plea for his father to speak to him, after revealing King Charles was giving his son the silent treatment.
Following the duke losing his appeal to reinstate state-funded security when he and his family visit the UK, he agreed to a rare interview with the BBC.
Harry said Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff” and claimed “I don’t know how much longer my father has”, referring to the monarch’s cancer diagnosis in 2024.
Months later, and Charles and Harry’s senior aides were seen taking part in what has been dubbed a ‘secret peace summit’ for the royal family. It’s said it is the first step to restore the broken bond between Harry and the rest of his family.
