How Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles Used Prince William As A ‘Shield’

Their relationship is allegedly more accepted these days, but as they made an effort to get there, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles reportedly used Prince William as a “shield” to convince the public to support them.

In the 2011 book, “William and Catherine,” biographer Andrew Morton claimed that Prince William’s father and future stepmother used him strategically in their bid to gain positive press for their hotly contested relationship, which wasn’t even supported by Queen Elizabeth at the time.

“While William instinctively wanted to be left alone, Camilla deliberately kept a low profile, as courtiers carefully introduced her to the wider world,” he wrote. “Prince William was, as Diana’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson points out, effectively used as her ‘human shield,’ information about the young prince being given out for favorable coverage of Charles and Camilla.”

In addition, the first official outing where Camilla was spotted with both her future stepsons, especially William, served as the true key in getting the public to eventually grow and accept her a little more.

“The signs were clear,” Morton wrote of a yachting trip in the Mediterranean. “The young prince’s presence in Camilla’s company was forgiveness for perceived of transgressions. For the watching media and the public, the subtext was obvious: if William could forgive, so could the rest of the world.”

Of course, even if Prince William did grow to accept Camilla and help pave the way for her marriage to Charles in 2005, the Duchess of Cornwall still has a rough time being accepted by everyone. She was slammed as appearing “desperate to be Queen” back in March when she wore an outfit some believed was too similar of a shade to one worn by Queen Elizabeth, and she’s even been the subj3ect of false reports which claim her mother-in-law still doesn’t approve of her and even tried to force her son to divorce his second wife.

That report claimed that Queen Elizabeth ordered the divorce so as to ensure all scandals were settled before her eventual death and that Camilla claimed that she wouldn’t go without a $213 million payout.