The little-known “bitter” story behind the photo of Princess Diana openly chatting with her “rival” Camilla

Behind the photo of what seemed to be a close friendship turned out to be a cruel story.

Princess Diana and Camilla were known as arch-rivals because of their love triangle with Prince Charles. Few people know that before becoming people who did not want to see each other, Princess Diana and Camilla maintained a beautiful friendship.

The clearest evidence is a series of photos of the two happily walking together in public in front of the camera lens and in crowded places. However, behind this photo is a different story.

Tatler newspaper reported that after Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, Prince Charles began to get to know Princess Diana and quickly established a love relationship after only a few meetings. 

Royal biographer Penny Junor said that when Princess Diana was dating Charles, she and Camilla were very good friends. Diana’s nanny even helped Camilla take care of her two young children, Tom and Laura.

Camilla was 14 years older than Diana, so it was understandable that the 19-year-old Diana often sought Camilla’s advice on love affairs. At that time, Diana simply thought that Camilla was a long-time friend of Prince Charles, so she would certainly know more than she did.

Princess Diana and Camilla happily walked together.

Penny Junor says Camilla acted as Diana’s older sister and supporter when they went to see Prince Charles compete at the Ludlow Races in 1980. This was also the day that Prince Charles and Diana were publicly revealed as lovers. A series of photos published by the media showed Camilla walking closely alongside Diana. The two women chatted happily.

While watching the match, the two women stood close together, oblivious to the paparazzi who were watching them. Expert Penny Junor said that Camilla was like a solid support that helped Diana feel more confident in a crowded place with so many eyes watching her. Since then, Camilla has maintained a close friendship with Diana.

The two women happily spent time together despite the surveillance of camera lenses.

The “bitter” lunch date

However, the two women’s memories of that lunch later differed. Princess Diana claimed that Camilla used the meal to find out if there was any way she could meet Charles without his fiancée interfering.

Ten years later, Diana told royal biographer Andrew Morton: “I remember being so young, I didn’t know anything about jealousy or envy or anything like that. I think she was worried about how she was going to get in touch with Charles in the future.”

In a 1985 article in Vanity Fair, author Brown continued to emphasize the above point when he said that Camilla viewed Diana “as a shy little Spencer girl” and thought that “Diana would not cause any trouble” if she and Prince Charles continued their relationship.

Therefore, some public opinion believes that behind the intimate photo between Diana and Camilla actually contains many calculations. Some experts assert that Camilla tried to approach Diana and win her favor because she was still attached to Prince Charles, not because she wanted to build a long-term good friendship.

However, no one really knows what Camilla and Diana thought of each other at that time. It is only known that later Camilla became the “third person” hated by the public and Princess Diana also ended her tragic marriage with Prince Charles.