Prince Harry has opened up about his father King Charles marrying Queen Consort Camilla following the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
As part of his candid new interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 MINUTES, the Duke of Sussex opened up about his relationship with the royal family, including his stepmother Camilla whom Harry said was portrayed as "the villain" by the tabloids.
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Quoting his mother, who famously said there were three people in her marriage amid Charles' infidelity, Harry explained: "She was the third person in their marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image."
Although he acknowledged that Camilla made his father very happy, he added that he thought it was unnecessary that they got married on 9 April 2005.
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King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla got married in 2005
When Anderson asked: "You and your brother both directly asked your dad not to marry Camilla?" the Duke replied: "Yes. We didn’t think it was necessary. We thought that it was gonna cause more harm than good, and if he was now with his person, that— surely that’s enough.
"Why go that far when you don't necessarily need to? We wanted him to be happy. And we saw how happy he was with her. So, at the time, it was, 'OK.'"
The Duke of Sussex has admitted he didn't think their wedding was necessary
King Charles married his first wife Princess Diana in July 1981 and they went on to welcome Prince William and Prince Harry in 1982 and 1984 respectively.
They separated in 1992 and their marriage ended in divorce in 1996, one year before Diana sadly passed away in a car accident in France. Charles and Camilla went public with their relationship in 1999 and went on to marry in 2005 in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall followed by a service of blessing at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle – but their big day wasn't without obstacles.
Harry has even recently admitted that he wondered whether external forces, like the spirit of Princess Diana, were playing a part in the disruptions.
One of the issues faced by the couple was the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005, with Harry saying neither wanted the wedding to coincide with the date of his funeral. They were planning to marry on 8 April 2005 but they pushed it back a day as the Queen was insistent that Charles attend the funeral on that day.
The Duke of Sussex also confirmed press speculation that the Queen hadn't wanted to give Charles and Camilla permission to marry, even though she did give the pair her blessing.
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