A new book about the life of King Charles III. makes bombastic claims about how he allegedly made an informal deal with Queen Elizabeth II to make his wife Camilla the queen consort.
Christopher Andersen writes in his new book, The King: The Life of Charles III, that Camilla allegedly got her title after her husband, Elizabeth, suggested that she make a statement of support for Camilla to become Queen Consort in the aftermath of Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse becomes lawsuit.
Andersen cites two long-time and highly trusted sources who said Charles privately asked Elizabeth to support Camilla as queen consort in an “informal consideration,” since any money Elizabeth spends to settle Andrew’s lawsuit is effectively from Charles’ inheritance would come from.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend the Braemar Highland Gathering (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Buckingham Palace said in a statement to NBC News that Andersen’s claims were “nonsense”, calling them “unsourced” and “categorically untrue”.
In response to the Palace’s statement, Andersen said in an interview with TODAY the Palace’s response was “standard procedure.”
“Actually, when you bother to make a statement about a book, you know you’ve struck a chord,” Andersen said. “As I said, I have been covering the royal family for 50 years…this is not an authorized biography — It is an unauthorized biography and therefore much more accurate than what the palace would provide.
Elizabeth released a statement in February ahead of her platinum anniversary expressing her “sincere desire” for Camilla to be known as the Queen consort, shocking many royal family supporters.
Camilla, Queen Consort competes in races at Ascot (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Andersen said that while the testimony seemed to come out of nowhere, his sources say it was a coordinated effort between her and Charles.
“It wasn’t out of the blue; it was again an unspoken agreement with the two behind the scenes,” Andersen said. “Charles was in a position where he needed the Queen to support Camilla as they approached the Platinum Jubilee. And those things converged.”
In February, Andrew settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount alleging that he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre when she was 17. Giuffre had claimed she was taken to see Andrew at multiple locations by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The story goes on
The settlement came a month after a judge denied Andrew’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Andrew has long denied all allegations against him.
Andersen has written several books on the British monarchy. The King focuses on Charles’s childhood and how his divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales, and his affair with Camilla created a rift between him and his parents.
Prince Harry is releasing his own book, a memoir called Spare, in January, and Andersen said his sources are already suggesting the palace is preparing for its impact.
“Obviously there could be bombs in this book,” he told TODAY. “The palace will not be happy and as they face the coronation in May it has obviously kept them all in suspense.”
Charles became king when Elizabeth died on September 8 at the age of 96. Charles and Camilla are due to be crowned during a coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com