King Charles and Queen Camilla have a poignant and enduring love story; however, the public did not always accept their romance as the pair were royally butchered in the press.
Camilla Was Once Seen As “The Most Hated Woman In Britain”
Most people know that Charles and Camilla were having an affair while he was married to Princess Diana. During that time, Camilla was known as “The most hated woman in Britain.”
It didn’t help Camilla that Diana was high-spirited, beloved by the public, a style icon, and a trailblazer. She was “The People’s Princess.”
The Commonwealth wasn’t too keen on Charles’s relationship with Camilla. She became famous only after she was mired in scandal and controversy.
It took a long time for the Commonwealth to embrace Camilla and even longer for Queen Elizabeth II to give the couple her blessing.
One of the most undeniably memorable bombshells was a secret bedtime phone call between Charles and Camilla that was recorded in 1989 and leaked to the press in 1993.
Without getting into too much graphic and humiliating detail, it went something like this:
“That’s the sort of thing one has to beware of and sort of feel one’s way along,”
Charles said.
“You’re awfully good at feeling your way along,”
Camilla responded.
“I’ll just live inside your trousers,”
The future King remarked.
Cringey, but true. The above was an actual phone call between Charles and Camilla while he was still married to Diana.
After Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997, Charles’s reputation worsened. One man stepped in to save the integrity of the monarchy. His name was Mark Bolland, a professional “spin doctor.”
Prince William and Prince Harry referred to him as “Blackadder” after the devious comic character created by the British comedian Rowan Atkinson for the TV series.
Bolland “Won-Over” Newspapers That Were Very Pro-Diana
Bolland was hired in 1996 to help improve Charles’s image. He quickly became the man whom the then-disgraced prince trusted more than anyone.
One of the most significant blows came during Diana’s 1995 BBC interview with Martin Bashir when the Princess of Wales inferred that Charles may not “be able to adapt to being King.”
Bolland started his lofty task by managing the people in Charles’s life. He established a working relationship with the prince’s charities and regulated his communications.
Bolland’s primary role was to change how the press and the palace related. He helped the public get more information about the royals to eliminate mistrust.
His most challenging assignment was possibly to “win over” newspapers that were very “pro-Diana,” and he succeeded. William and Harry weren’t too thrilled with him as he “paved the way” for Camilla’s rehabilitation.
The boys had just lost their mother, and Bolland orchestrated the first steps toward Charles and Camilla’s inevitable reign together as King and Queen. Thus, the name “Blackadder.”
Bolland is unmercifully mentioned several times in Harry’s tell-all memoir, “Spare.” In the end, Charles and Bolland’s relationship didn’t work out.
For a year afterward, Bolland wrote a News of the World column. His byline: Blackadder. Bolland is no longer in the public eye but will always be remembered for changing the public’s perception of the King and Queen.
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