What We Know for Sure? It’s None of Our Business.
It’s so predictable you could set the clock by it. If there’s any kind of significant press involving King Charles or his wife Queen Camilla, that tired old news trick comes out in force. Publicly rehashing the breakdown of a very private matter, their first marriages. And like raw meat at the zoo, people rush, without thinking, to devour it.
We are here to finally tell you the definitive truth you need to know about this — about Charles, Diana, and Camilla, the entire story and messy ordeal.
Ready? Ok… here goes.
It’s None of Our Business.
That’s it. That’s the only fact you need to know moving forward. Next time someone tries to draw you in, runs a poll, hosts a chat on tv or radio, and you feel the urge to respond? Remember, the only fact you need to know: It’s none of your business.
Queen Camilla is 75 years old. She is an adored grandmother, mother, loving wife, and tireless champion of women and children, particularly women trying to rebuild after domestic abuse and sexual assault. Her annual charitable events are perhaps the most popular on the Royal calendar. She is regarded as kind and warm, known for her calm and skill in even the most stressful situations.
King Charles has what may be the greatest philanthropic legacy of any modern Briton. He has been dedicated to global causes well before it was fashionable, and he has never wavered in his commitment to helping others.
Their Majesties are in a second marriage. No one, no matter how well you think you know the people involved, or what happened between them, needs to chime in on their first marriages. Unless you are in fact Charles, Camilla, or Diana, you do not know what really happened!
Oh, hang on. I can tell you’re thinking about what you’ve read or heard and feel the need to interrupt now! Stop! We. Do. Not. Know.
No one knows what goes on in ANY relationship except for the people involved. And even then, there are three sides: his side, her side, and The Truth.
Some of you are probably thinking, “well, we do know what happened because of this book, that interview, etc etc…” — yes, Charles and Diana certainly contributed to the public nature of a very private matter. A massive mistake in my opinion. I would imagine, if they could, they would both say it is their greatest regret, and would especially regret the embarrassment it caused their children.
But important to note, just as most of us will know from listening to friends going through break-ups, what is said in the heat of battle often bears little resemblance to the truth.
Just because Charles said something, doesn’t make it true. Just because Diana said something, doesn’t make it true. (I have many friends who shared what they considered to be mountains of unforgivable sins during break-ups, only to say years later, “I can hardly remember what that was about now.”)
Things said at the height of emotion or hurt are usually quite exaggerated. And, sadly, as we all learn the hard way, once words are spoken, they cannot be retracted. Our worst comments can live on to be taken out of context, and haunt us, forever. (Especially if they’re rehashed regularly in the press...)
Newsweek Royal correspondent Jack Royston was one of the predictable hacks chiming in this past July, particularly cruel timing on his part, as Camilla was celebrating her birthday, at an event where she personally invited others in her age group to join the party. Despite this, Royston was opining on television that Camilla still needs forgiveness from “the nation” as people haven’t forgiven Charles and Camilla for “what happened to Diana.” (Diana’s many escapades are unfortunately also a matter of public record now, because of testimony after her death, but strange, no one ever talks about forgiveness there.)
I’m genuinely interested in what would happen, if the millions of divorced people in the UK, felt they had to turn to “the nation” for forgiveness? I suspect Royston must know at least one divorced person? Who would surely laugh him out of the room for suggesting it’s anyone else’s business at all!
The only thing “the nation” need know about is their work performance on the job. And, yes, people do have a right to know some things about the senior members of the Royal Family, as they represent the country.
BUT we do not have a right to look into the very private, intensely personal details of someone’s bedroom or life. No one needs to know what went on in a marital relationship or breakdown. Repeat after me again!
It is none of our business.
I wonder how the people opining about Charles and Camilla would feel if the tables were turned, and the spotlight put on their personal relationships? If their worst remarks or comments, expressed in anger or frustration, at their lowest points, were rehashed by a media simply looking for clicks and revenue. Using their very private information, repeatedly, for profit.
Think about how you’ve behaved in your worst and most vulnerable few moments, or consider the things you’ve said to a loved one in your most personal and intimate moments? Now imagine that’s how people could define the entirety of your life, for years to come?
In a statistic shared widely for years, almost half of marriages end in divorce. Turns out trying to live a life with another human being, 24/7, 7 days a week, year after year, is not always an easy task! Personalities are at their most exposed, egos can be at their highest, and stubborn emotions and pride can ruin even the most well-meaning attempts at conflict resolution.
Consider trying to do that with the world watching. And paranoia that every stupid story or comment in a paper must be true and leaked by your other half. I can safely say I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Relationships are hard enough without a critical audience!
What strikes me the most, I never thought we were so intolerant of divorce, and divorced couples? I thought the puritans left hundreds of years ago. Why do we become so unforgiving and judgemental, particularly in a case like this, where the majority of people chiming in, have never even met the people involved?!
King Charles and Queen Camilla are a married couple, each soon turning the corner towards 80 years old. Surely, surely, it is time once and for all to put the sordid gossip of their personal lives to rest.
As Diana’s long-time companion Hasnat Khan testified at the inquest into her death, his sense was Diana herself “was over the separation” and “over Charles.”
If one of the three people involved was “over it” more than 20 years ago, it is certainly past time for the press, and public, to be over it now.
The King and Queen deserve what every person does, the right to their own, private, intimate, lives.
Isn’t that what we all want?