AIBU to think they are over-egging the pudding a bit with Camilla's latest "rehabilitation"?

[Limecoconutice]

I know this isn't AiBU but I am interested in the view of both royalists and republicans. (I am somewhere in the middle, veering towards republicanism.)

Fair enough the Queen declaring officially that Camilla will be Queen when Charles inherits the throne. I reluctantly concede that she has proved herself, doing the job of royal consort reasonably well, with well chosen causes, and I don't envy her having to take on the role of Queen consort at an age when most people are winding down and enjoying life a bit. It's a big commitment. Ditto the induction in to the Order of the Garter. I don't pretend to understand the significance of that but it is obviously meaningful to the RF.

But this latest video of her saying her parents taught her to be "considerate of others" is kind of ignoring the elephant in the room? Yes it was a long time ago, yes both Charles and Diana came from dysfunctional backgrounds and had unreasonable outside pressures put upon them, and yes Diana had affairs too, but I still think it takes a particularly hard sort of person to pursue an extra marital relationship so relentlessly when there are young children involved? Not very "considerate" in my view! Any decent or honourable person would have stepped back, moved abroad, absented themselves and she did none of those things. She bought a house close to Highgrove fhs! And it's fairly apparent that the ripple effect of the devastation caused is still being felt today (Harry etc) despite everyone's best efforts to make it appear as if it's been smoothed over!

Call me old-fashioned, but my view is that you can have all the beauty treatments and cosmetic dentistry and procedures you like in New York, and all the couture outfits and hats made for you in London, and Elizabeth II's approval, and the Order of the Garter bestowed upon you, but that doesn't make you an honourable person! But maybe my mistake is thinking that any of the RF should be more honourable than the average person? But I kind of think that to do the job well, you have to be nowadays! Maybe before press intrusion and mobile phone cameras and TV news, you could play the role of King or Queen and be a different person in your private life, but nowadays , with such an intense spotlight on you, you have to be the real article! I am just not convinced that Camilla, or Charles for that matter (who doesn't get to shake off responsibility for his role in the Diana debacle either) quite cut it!

Anyone else (who can be bothered to care) feel the same way?

You are right in all you said and I think both bitterly regret ruining Diana's life ....... I think it's time to forgive and move on

The other side of it though is that they wanted to be together and were not allowed. I suspect William and Kate are the first generation who have enough freedom in who they marry to actually have a chance of a healthy marriage. Charles was brought up seeing previous generations being forced into an ‘appropriate’ marriage and having mistresses on the side to cope.

The biggest problem, for me, is that they are both lying through their teeth about their affair. It never stopped, not for a minute.

A fact.

My uncle had a taxi garage in Brixton and explained that, off their normal 'patch' cabbies ask other cabbies where to get fuel, food etc etc. According to him, it was well known in the black cab world. He sold his garage in about 1983/4.

Charles and Camilla used to use a series of black cabs, starting at separate points to end up at one place for a shag. Diana was deemed expendable by them both.

For that reason, I've not much time for either of them.

I agree with everything you said. She has been quiet but more recently working with journalists and the press so she can appeal to the public I guess. Charles obviously wants the job and nothing will stand in his way.

The biggest problem, for me, is that they are both lying through their teeth about their affair. It never stopped, not for a minute.

I must admit - although no one in authority is going to break protocol and say it - that this seems very likely. Particularly given various reports about Camilla being complicit in the choice of Diana who would, she thought, being young and malleable, "not make a fuss". They can't admit that though because that would show up the whole marriage (with implications for the monarchy) as one big cynical sham from the outset. .
Very interesting indeed about your uncle though newtb!

I do understand that point of view MeridianGrey but I think it could nonetheless have been handled so much better by both parties, who were not spring chickens at this stage, without destroying the life of a third party. Charles could have married and had a child with an obliging aristocrat who was older and knew the score. He could have held out and refused to have children at all! (I understand though that he would have been under almost intolerable pressure if he had done that as he would have felt responsibility for continuing the line.) Diana could have been informed about the situation and allowed to make her own decision, rather than being deceived. It's the injustice of what was done to her, aged twenty, that was so hideous.

Charles obviously wants the job and nothing will stand in his way.
To be fair, Darmaka, that is the way a hereditary monarchy works. He will have the job whether he wants it or not! I think he should step aside pretty quickly though, as has happened in Holland, Belgium and Spain. [Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Albert II of Belgium and King Juan Carlos I of Spain all abdicated between April 2013 and June 2014.]

What makes you say that chopc if you don't mind me asking? They don't seem particularly remorseful to me! They could have made some sort of joint gesture in Diana's name in the past quarter of a century, if that genuinely were the case?

I take all these ‘my cousins cat knows for a fact’ stories with a pinch of salt.

any gesture in Diana’s name would never be well received

Bottom line is... the general public are fickle and have short memories.

Yes, Camilla has kept her nose clean. Yes, she supports worthy charities. But I have a feeling they lead quite seperate lives (I know she spends a lot of time in Wiltshire, whilst he is at Highgrove) and the pushing of Camilla to the general public is a very shrewd smart move ready for when he takes over.

I just abhor the manipulation of us. I have no feelings either way about her except she's very lucky she's been generally forgiven.

any gesture in Diana’s name would never be well received

yes I can see that

I don’t like the manipulation either Roussette

Nobody cares really about anything else to do with the RF. It's more interesting to hate H+M. You don't have to go far - just read these threads.

Kings have always, always had their mistresses. Charles's mistake lay in assuming we didn't care.

YY darmaka there is certainly little to no interest in my dcs’ generation - that I can detect anyway.

Yes indeed (but their wives would have been aware presumably? ).

I think there is such in built misogyny within the RF that C didn’t think at all! As the pp said, Diana was there to provide an heir and a spare and then she was expendable. And it came as a bit of a shock when she proved to be more popular than him!

The Queen chose Philip - and despite the ups and downs, I suspect would do so again.

People say that Charles and Camilla weren't allowed to marry when they first met, but the truth is that she was nuts about Andrew PB, and only wanted to marry him.

I do think now that they seem well matched and genuinely care for each other. They obviously share a sense of humour. Surprised that I have come round to this point of view (must be getting soft in my old age!), as I thought the way they behaved when Diana and Charles were married was dreadful.

Yeah, Diana got rather screwed by that, @Limecoconutice.

I live how people ‘ know for a fact’ what happened in private relationships.

Neither Diana or Charles behaved very well. They were all fairly young and have suffered for their mistakes. I personally don’t wish to see any more lives ruined over something that happened over two decades ago.

But then I’m not that vindictive. Both Charles and Camilla are in their 70s. Diana is dead. Nothing will change the past, especially not slagging off a woman you never met online.

ajandjjmum I think the Queen and PP were of the generation where everyone in the aristocracy had extra marital affairs though. The papers were respectfully silent on the subject but wasn’t Philip’s mistress or “good friend” at his funeral and memorial service?

The aristocracy , with inherited wealth, are the only section of society with enough time and energy and spare houses to constantly pursue the opposite sex! If you are a self made billionaire, you are too busy working!

I think you mean Penny Romsey. She and Philip were certainly very close and the Queen seems to very much treat her as 'one of the family', which of course, she is. I would imagine that the fact she was with Philip when he brought carriage driving into the UK, would have given them a shared passion. She also lost a child through cancer, and I seem to remember that she was given a lot of support from different members of the RF at the time. I hope they were just very good friends, but who knows.

Whether they all have affairs, I honestly don't know - although I take your point about them having the time. I suspect that like most other sections of society, there's good and bad people. Or perhaps I should say 'people with fewer morals' rather than 'bad'!

But maybe my mistake is thinking that any of the RF should be more honourable than the average person?

I think the now regular lurid headlines demonstrate a wanton lack of honour and integrity in the entire set-up.

Singling out Camilla is pointless. They're all equally objectionable in different ways.

Camilla pretended to befriend Diana while having an affair with Charles. I think it takes a particularly manipulative personality to do that.

Exactly. I will add relationships are complicated and it’s really impossible to have good and bad guys.

Bottom line is we know nothing about them. They live separately. Maybe they ham it up for the cameras and are doing the PR tour of duty to improve their image before taking over the Big Job.

It's not what we know about them personally, it is all about how we perceive them as future K and Q. Hence all the smiles, great sense of humour, etc. I think it is all bollocks myself. Charles talks to his plants and grabs bags of loot from a Saudi Prince. Camilla was complicit in making Diana's life a misery at the time.

I wonder how leopards change spots?

Aren’t you is taking an episode of the Crown for real life?

A blast of common sense 🙂

It happened in real life.

For me, it is not about what happens in relationships. The issue is that what happened shows the characters of the people involved. And Camilla does not come off well.

I think Charles and Camilla have amazing pr people who have done a brilliant job. They deserve to be in demand for work.