Prince Harry caused a stir when he shared in his memoir Spare that he had a nickname for his stepmother, Queen Camilla. Instead of calling her by her real name or title, he referred to her as “The Other Woman.
This term was both unusual and emotionally loaded, reflecting the difficult feelings he and his brother, Prince William, had while growing up during their father’s relationship with Camilla.
Harry explained that while he and William were not against their father, King Charles, being in a romantic relationship, they strongly opposed the idea of marriage between Charles and Camilla. Still, when the time came, the brothers shook their father’s hand, wished him well, and said there were no hard feelings—even though deep down, the situation had been painful for them.
He admitted in the book that their father’s love for Camilla was obvious and that the couple was finally doing what made them happy. But the emotional toll of their relationship had already left scars, especially since Harry and William were never really part of the conversation.
He referenced Princess Diana’s famous interview where she said, “There were three of us in this marriage,” and added that she forgot to mention the effect it had on their children.
Harry wrote that he and William could feel that something was wrong in their parents’ relationship. Even if they didn’t fully understand what was going on, they felt the emotional weight of their father’s affair. Harry described how William had long suspected that something was off, and when those suspicions were finally confirmed, William felt guilty for not saying or doing anything earlier.
Camilla and Charles eventually got married in 2005, many years after their relationship became public. Camilla was given the title of Duchess of Cornwall after the wedding. Then, after Queen Elizabeth II passed away, Charles became King Charles III and made Camilla the Queen Consort.
Harry’s honest and emotional writing in Spare gave people a closer look at how he and his brother really felt during that complex and painful time in their lives. It wasn’t just a royal love story—it was also a childhood filled with confusion, emotional struggles, and trying to accept big changes in their family.
