Royal author reveals William and Harry's nicknames for Camilla after Diana's death

A royal author has revealed the stinging nicknames Prince William and Prince Harry used for Camilla after the death of their mother, Princess Diana, offering new context to the early years of the future queen consort’s public image.

The nicknames — including Lady Macbeth, Cruella de Vil and the Witch of the West — appear in Tom Quinn’s book Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, which cites the princes’ private conversations as they navigated grief and a changing royal landscape. The account emphasizes that William and Harry were teens, 12 and 15, when Diana died, and that their words reflected fear of a fairytale villain taking shape in the wake of the family’s loss.

In the years following Diana’s death in August 1997, Charles and Camilla’s relationship moved from rumor to public life. A year after Diana’s death, the couple began appearing together publicly; their journey was shaped by a series of personal and media battles, including the Tampongate episodes that strained the royal household and the broader process of Charles’s remarriage. As Charles and Camilla prepared for a public role that would place Camilla in the line of succession, observers noted how the princes’ perception of her evolved amid intense media scrutiny.

Harry’s memoir Spare adds another layer, asserting complex emotions about gaining a stepmother who, in his view, had recently sacrificed him on her personal PR altar. He has described the dynamic as “dangerous” due to Camilla’s connections with the press and the way information was traded. The duke’s account was met with questions from some royal observers, including veteran journalist Robert Jobson, who argued that Harry’s portrayal of Camilla as a wicked stepmother seemed odd given his status as an adult at the time and the broader context of the royal saga.

Charles and Camilla’s relationship culminated in a public wedding in April 2005, when Harry was nearly 21. In later interviews, Harry offered a more tempered view of Camilla, telling People that she was not the wicked stepmother and had in fact helped make their father happy. Critics noted that his memory of events appeared inconsistent with contemporaneous reporting and statements at the time.

Three months after Spare was published, aides cited by The Sunday Times described Camilla’s reaction to the memoir claims as more of an eye-roll than a tantrum, signaling a measured response to the publicity.

Camilla’s close friend Fiona Shelburne, Lady Lansdowne, told the newspaper that while Camilla was hurt by the accusations, she chose not to let them define her. Her philosophy, Shelburne said, was to “don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down – least said, soonest mended.”

In 2023, Omid Scobie’s Endgame report suggested Camilla had sympathy for Meghan, but that she had no clear respect for how the Sussexes had conducted themselves. The book portrays Camilla as a stabilizing force for Charles, with William and Harry slowly finding their footing in relation to the couple. Scobie’s account also notes that William has grown closer to Camilla over time, even as the Sussexes’ departure created lasting tensions within the family.

The past decade has shown a gradual shift in the family’s dynamics. Scobie writes that, in the early days, it would have been unimaginable for William and Kate to share laugh-filled lunches with Charles and Camilla; by recent years, the two couples have grown closer in public life, especially since the Sussexes left the royal fold. Still, the relationship remains complicated and closely watched by the public and the press.

Last week, reports circulated that Harry pledged to keep private discussions with his father intact, spending 54 minutes with King Charles at Clarence House as part of an effort to rebuild their father–son relationship. A royal source described the meeting as an important step, though whether it will lead to lasting reconciliation remains uncertain. Charles was not joined by William at the Clarence House gathering, and several aides suggested William was aware of the discussion, but its outcome remained unclear. A Daily Mail source said there is a long way to go before trust can be fully restored, noting that subsequent steps would depend on ongoing arrangements and private conversations rather than public disclosures.