By Katherine Tinsley
9:38pm PDT, Aug 12, 2025
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Princess Diana was clearly aware that
King Charles III was cheating on her. She famously called
Queen Camilla the third person in her marriage, and according to a new book, she once ambushed her husband's mistress at a birthday party.
Keep reading for the details…
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Tom Bower writes about Princess Diana discovering the affair between King Charles III and Queen Camilla in his new book, Rebel King: The Making of a Monarch. He details a confrontation between the two women at a 1989 birthday party, sharing, "Diana arrived unexpectedly at a birthday party at Annabel Goldsmith's house in Ham, near Richmond. Charles was with Diana, while both the Parker Bowleses [Camilla and then-husband Andrew Parker Bowles] were already there. As the room fell suddenly silent, Diana challenged Camilla to leave Charles alone."
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Tom Bower claimed Queen Camilla "controlled her fury" and told Princess Diana that her outburst was "unacceptable in a private house." According to Bower, Camilla said that Diana "was poorly placed to complain" because "while Camilla confined herself to a single, conventional relationship, Diana, she had been told by friends, was 'working her way through the life guards.'"
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According to Tom Bower, Queen Camilla's friends "blamed the bruising encounter on [Princess] Diana for creating 'such a public scene,'" while "others accused Camilla" of being catty.
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The unraveling of Princess Diana's relationship with King Charles III became public fodder. "Britain was divided about where the guilt lay. The majority, especially women, blamed Charles," Tom Bower wrote. "They believed the version written by Richard Kay, the Daily Mail journalist and Diana's confidant: 'I knew a girl of utter simplicity, even naivety – frightened, uncertain and delightful company.' … Visitors to Balmoral described a very different figure. Their accounts portrayed a manipulative woman intent on wrecking relationships, especially her own with Charles and with his mother."
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Tom Bower noted that the British public largely judged Queen Camilla for the issues between Princess Diana and King Charles III. "Blame also fell on Camilla. Many times, her critics believed, she could have stood back to allow Charles and Diana to reconcile. Instead, she coldly pushed her rival aside," Bower shared.
