By Javier Fox—
On May 6, 2023, royal fanatics all over the world woke up at all times of the day to witness an almost once-in-a-lifetime event, the coronation of a new British monarch. However, for many people, this was not a happy day.
Queen Camilla, formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was crowned Queen Consort, a title meant for the non-royal-blooded monarch. This has caused a frenzy in many homes across the United Kingdom.
For a lot of Brits, the one who should have been crowned was none other than the late Diana, Princess of Wales. In both life and death, Diana has had a profound, ever-lasting effect on the lives of millions.
Women everywhere still dream of the royal wedding that was shared between Prince Charles and Diana. My mother had her wedding train modeled after Diana’s. Her picture-perfect life, which was filled with celebrities, riches and supposedly love, was coveted by all until 1992 when the two royals separated in a shocking announcement made by the British Prime Minister. The world was stunned; something like this had never happened before. No royals of this stature had ever been separated.
This became Diana’s time to shine; her lifestyle after leaving the royal family became somehow even more fabulous. Her walks downtown, driving in her fancy cars and hanging with Elton John and countless other stars captured the attention of millions around the world.
In 1994, the situation between Charles and Diana became somehow more scandalous. It was made public that Prince Charles was having an affair during the duration of his marriage with Camilla Paker Bowles. It wasn’t until two years later that the couple became divorced.
Then, in 1997, tragedy struck. Princess Diana was in a limo with her partner Dodi Al-Fayed, and a major accident happened killing both Diana and Al-Fayed. The world went into mourning. Millions gathered to pay their respects to the late Princess. She left behind two young children, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Even during this period of great loss Prince Charles never stopped having feelings for Camilla. After being together for many years privately, they decided to make their relationship public and marry in 2005. The wedding was a small one, set in Scotland because the two were not allowed to be married in the Church of England so the Church of Scotland had to do.
The union was met with a lot of scrutiny; Camilla reportedly anticipated and feared citizens booing her as she walked out of the church. After a while, the couple had to just get over all of the negative attention and just carry on. Many times since 2005, she has been on record saying that she does not let the negativity get to her.
Even over 18 years later, the two still face an enormous amount of criticism and hate from the general public, mainly surrounding the talk of Diana. Before, during and after the coronation people everywhere exclaimed that the one who should be coronated was Diana, not Camilla. Throughout the week I read, heard and saw “That should be Diana!” more times than I could count.
In my opinion, no, it really shouldn’t be. From the beginning of their relationship, Charles and Diana were not a great fit. He was 12 years older than she was; oh and another problem: he was already in love with another woman, Camilla. The union between Charles and Diana was an arranged one, mainly because of political reasons.
Diana, who was a part of the House of Spencer, which is a very high-class, high-profile family, was related to Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It is believed by many that Queen Elizabeth II orchestrated this marriage to improve relations with the Prime Minister and his administration.
I argue that a marriage that was not founded on love is not one worth pursuing. Charles notably did not ever love Diana the way he loved Camilla, and one could argue that Diana was more in love with the idea of royalty than the actual royal himself.
I believe that the true couple, King Charles and Queen Camilla, were robbed of a fair shot at life and should not be scrutinized for the past, now more than ever.