On Sept. 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died, leaving her son, Charles III, to be king. This change also means that Charles’ wife, Camilla, is now queen consort. While Queen Elizabeth II was not the most well-liked public figure, mainly due to her participation in colonialism, the queen consort is widely hated, especially on social media.
In the early 1990s, an intimate phone call between Charles III and Camilla was leaked, causing a major scandal in the Royal Family. At the time of the phone call, Charles was married to Princess Diana, often referred to as ‘the people’s princess’ because of her popularity. Camilla was also married to another man at the time of the phone call, but both Camilla and Charles divorced their partners soon after their affair became public.
With the change in royal titles, social media was quickly filled with videos comparing the new queen consort to Princess Diana. Many TikTok videos show several bad photos of Camilla, followed by flattering pictures of Diana. Comments like, “The comparison is not about age it’s about class” and “Diana will always be my queen” express a feeling of loyalty on behalf of the late princess. Some comments don’t even mention Diana, they simply express hatred towards Camilla. “Who cares about a mistress who destroyed a whole family”, and “homewrecker unfit to be queen” are some of the most liked comments on the comparison videos.
While videos expressing dislike of Camila are quite popular, King Charles is rarely addressed. Even in comments that claim Camilla does not deserve to be queen because she, as one user put it, “has no class,” no one says the same about Charles, who also participated in an extramarital affair. Some comments on videos featuring photos of both women say that King Charles “has bad taste” or “made the wrong choice”, but Charles is never called any of the hateful names commonly associated with the new queen consort.
Pitting Princess Diana and Queen Consort Camilla against each other is quite popular on social media right now, but it’s likely to calm down as the royals settle into their new roles. The Royal Family is not new to controversy, and they have a habit of regaining public favor, at least among their own citizens, after a major scandal.