Princess Diana was known for her grace and charm, but when it came to Camilla Parker Bowles , she brashly referred to her as the ‘third person in her marriage,’ not holding back. Among the nicknames she reportedly had for Bowles, ‘the Rottweiler’ stands out as the most cutting, as per The List . This was no ordinary insult; it was seemingly a reflection of the agony and betrayal Diana felt as her marriage to Prince Charles was on the verge of breaking, with Bowles at the center of it all. Suffice it to say that the nickname ‘Rottweiler’ was far from a casual jab.
I’ve just discovered that Princess Diana called Camilla a Rottweiler x
— LADY ZOE (@TheRealZoeMBE) March 8, 2021
Of course, Diana’s dislike for Bowles was no secret, especially after the Princess, in a 1995 interview, said, “There were three of us in this marriage , so it was a bit crowded.” Furthermore, Diana wasn’t shy about expressing her disdain for Bowles’ face either. The People’s Princess famously confronted Bowles at a party and directly accused her of wrecking her marriage. Diana reportedly said, “I know what’s going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that.”
In response, Camilla allegedly argued, “‘You’ve got everything you ever wanted. You’ve got all the men in the world falling in love with you and you’ve got two beautiful children, what more do you want?’” Diana answered, “‘I want my husband.’ Diana then responded, “I’m sorry I’m in the way…and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what’s going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”
“[Diana’s] death seemed to break the bond between the monarchy and the people,” Mark Phillips reports. “It became the story at the time.” pic.twitter.com/TLTD6UtszH
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 31, 2017
At the time of Diana’s tragic death in 1997, Bowles had become one of the most reviled figures in Britain. The public, who adored Diana, largely blamed Bowles for the Princess’s unhappiness and the collapse of her marriage to Charles. The media portrayed Bowles in the harshest of lights, using every derogatory term imaginable to describe her.
As per Today , this was because of the infamous 1993 ‘Camillagate’ scandal, where private conversations between Charles and Bowles were leaked. In the clips, Charles was heard saying, “I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier.” To this, Bowles responds, “What are you going to turn into, a pair of knickers?… Oh, you’re going to come back as a pair of knickers…You are a complete idiot! (Laughs) Oh, what a wonderful idea.”
Charles’s confession of adultery in a 1994 interview with Jonathan Dimbleby did little to help their cause, and Diana’s subsequent interview with Martin Bashir, where she questioned Charles’s fitness to be king, only added to the royal drama. Yet, in a remarkable twist of fate, Bowles went from being the ‘most hated woman in Britain’ to becoming Queen Consort, a title officially bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II .
This article originally appeared 2 months ago.