The Queen Consort has not told the press about their first meeting with Prince William, royal insiders have insisted after the Duke of Sussex wrote in his memoir that she leaked the story to the media.
In his new autobiography, Spare, Prince Harry makes a series of bombastic revelations about the royal family, including claiming Camilla gave the press “pinpoint details” about the first time she met the heir.
‘None [of the details] had of course come from Willy. They can only have leaked from the one other person present,” Harry wrote, implying that Camilla spilled the beans to journalists.
But royal insiders today told The Telegraph that it was in fact Camilla’s private secretary who falsely revealed the details and later resigned.
The Duke of Sussex (right) wrote in his memoir that Camilla (left) leaked the story of her first meeting with Prince William to the media
(LR) Prince William, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attend the unveiling of a memorial to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on The Mall February 24, 2009 in London, England
Royal sources said Camilla’s personal assistant Amanda MacManus (pictured in 1998) was responsible for leaking details about the now Queen Consort’s first meeting with William
Harry’s autobiography, Spare, is due to be released on January 10, but a copy was leaked ahead of the release date
A source told The Telegraph that Harry “creates a very clear narrative that is partly an amalgamation of different versions of stories,” before claiming that Camilla’s personal assistant, Amanda MacManus, was responsible for leaking details about the 1998 meeting.
Camilla Parker Bowles, as her name was then, reportedly told MacManus, who later told her husband, who worked in the media.
A newspaper then obtained the details from a former colleague of MacManus’ husband, the source said.
Camilla was said to be “angry” when she discovered the leak and MacManus resigned.
The assistant, who was later rehired by Camilla, said at the time: “I am so sorry for the distress this has caused. Above all, I am ashamed that I have failed those who demand loyalty and trust, particularly my distinguished employer, Ms. Parker Bowles.
“I am very sorry to be leaving, but as the person responsible for this unfortunate chain of events, I have no honor in remaining in this position.”
Britain’s Prince William, right, and Prince Harry, left, after the wedding of their father, Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the Guildhall in Windsor, England, following their civil ceremony Wedding ceremony, April 9, 2005
Prince Charles, Princess Camilla and Prince Harry watch poppies fall from a Lancaster bomb as she stands next to Prince Andrew on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during celebrations to mark the end of World War Two in London July 10, 2005
Charles and Camilla married in 2005. Harry claims that William wishes he had said something to prevent this
In another excerpt from Spare, Prince Harry accused Camilla of plotting to marry Charles and assume the crown.
In an extraordinary passage, the Duke of Sussex writes: “Shortly after our private meetings with her, she began to develop her long-term strategy, a campaign aimed at marriage and, in time, the crown (with our Father’s blessing, we shall) .
The Duke also claims that he and his brother William “begged” the then-Prince of Wales not to remarry after Princess Diana’s death, fearing she would be her “wicked stepmother”.
Charles had tried to win his sons over before asking the public to accept Camilla, the book claims. Amazingly, Harry then says that meeting the future Queen Consort for the first time was like an “injection.” He later says that he and William Camilla ultimately agreed.
He writes: “I remember wondering … if she would be cruel to me; if she was like all the bad stepmothers in the stories.
In his book, published in Spain, Harry William also names his “nemesis” and his “opposite” and described the moment his father Charles told him that their mother Diana had died in a car accident in Paris, Web can reveal.
Harry accuses his older brother of being the aggressor during Megxit and claims their relationship is so strained and damaged that the Prince of Wales would just “scowl” at him.