In one of her most famous interviews on British television, Princess Diana told Martin Bashir on the BBC’s flagship program Panorama: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” The third person Diana was referring to was Camilla Parker Bowles, whom she also called “the enemy” and “the Rottweiler.” For many years Camilla was hated, vilified, humiliated but did she truly deserve such treatment? Why did Prince Charles leave his young and beautiful wife? Why was he prepared to do anything to keep Camilla by his side?
The 20th anniversary of Diana’s death was celebrated last year but are people’s feelings changing toward Camilla? In other words, are we less prejudiced against her? Are we ready to hear the other side of the truth and acknowledge that Camilla was not solely responsible for the break-up of the royal marriage?
Penny Junor, author of several royal biographies on Diana, Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry, has focused for the first time on Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. “In my view, when history comes to judge her, Camilla will not be seen as the woman who nearly brought down the House of Windsor. I think she will be recognized as the woman who shored it up,” she writes.
Prince Charles met and fell in love with Camilla Shand during the summer of 1971. She was 17 but remarkably self-assured for her age. Intelligent and well-read, she did not have a career in view. “I think in those days we weren’t encouraged to go to university. I think the very, very clever girls went on but nobody seemed to give us much inspiration to go on. So we went off and explored the university of life, and Paris and Florence and London,” she once said.
She desired nothing more than to be an upper-class country wife with children and a good social life. At the time she was dating a 25-year-old handsome officer, Andrew Parker Bowles, but that did not prevent Charles from falling in love with her. Louis, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the man Charles called his honorary grandfather, made it clear that Camilla was not aristocratic enough to marry Prince Charles. Despite Mountbatten’s reservations, Charles felt he had probably found the right person to share his life with. But was he too shy to declare his love to Camilla? Or was he thinking about her lack of aristocratic lineage? He never discussed his feelings with Camilla. Would that have changed the course of history? In March 1973, when the Prince of Wales was in the West Indies, Charles Parker Bowles asked Camilla to marry him.
Camilla wrote to Charles to inform him. Her decision broke his heart. He even wrote to her a week before the wedding, begging her not to marry Andrew, but Camilla went ahead with the marriage.
When their son, Tom, was born, Andrew and Camilla asked Prince Charles to be his godfather. This created a bond between them all and from that time onwards, Camilla became his confidante. Charles would spend hours talking to her on the phone or writing her long letters. She treated him like a normal person and was not afraid to speak the truth. If he was wrong she would tell him so. She was a true and sincere friend.
Charles has never been close to his parents. His mother hardly ever showed her maternal feelings, according to the author, and his father thought his son was too sensitive so he was exceptionally tough on him. Prince Charles grew up in a privileged world where all his material needs were taken care of but most of his emotional ones were left completely unattended to.
Charles is different from the rest of his family. He is fond of music and art, and that was one of the reasons Charles and Diana’s honeymoon was such a disaster. The prince was looking forward to a wonderful holiday in the sun, swimming, reading and painting. Diana was not a reader and was upset that her husband would prefer reading a book to sitting and talking with her. “One day, when he was sitting painting on the veranda deck, he went off to look at something for half an hour. He came back to find she had destroyed the whole lot,” writes Junor.
According to the author, Diana wanted Charles all to herself. She could not accept that he had work to attend to, and she disliked his friends. She simply demanded his full consideration all the time. Although Charles and Diana had experienced different childhoods, they had both suffered an acute lack of attention. Diana never got over the pain of being abandoned by her mother when she was only six and when her father remarried, it only exacerbated her sense of loss and estrangement. Both Charles and Diana had been hurt; they both needed someone to understand them and were unable to help each other. It soon became apparent that their marriage was a terrible mistake.
When, at the end of her Panorama interview, Diana was asked whether her husband would ever be king, she answered: “I would think that the top job, as I call it, would bring enormous limitations to him and I don’t know whether he could adapt to that.”
With those words, she had crossed the red line. The queen wrote to her son and daughter-in-law, asking them to divorce as soon as possible.
By July 1996, a settlement was made but Camilla felt as if she was publicly labelled “mistress” when St. James Palace, following the advice of Richard Aylard, Charles’ private secretary, issued a statement that the Prince of Wales had no intention of remarrying. At that stage Mark Bolland, a former public affairs executive, was hired. His task was to revive the prince’s reputation and make Camilla acceptable to the British public. He soon became indispensable and the person the Prince trusted the most.
And the unthinkable happened. On Sunday, Aug. 31, 1997, Princess Diana died in a tragic accident in Paris. Charles knew then that it would take a long time before his relationship with Camilla could be acknowledged and they could appear together.
Although the queen blamed Camilla for all her son’s problems since his disastrous marriage, she realized her son needed support and Camilla had given it to him. She had always been there for him. She helped him remain strong and self-confident and she gave him the love and tenderness that he had been deprived of, according to the author.
After Prince Charles’ divorce, Camilla gradually reappeared on the social scene. Although she was hated and the press always criticized the way she dressed, once you had met and spent some time with Camilla, you were never disappointed.
The next challenge was how a marriage between Charles and Camilla would be accepted by the public. The press had always described Camilla as the evil person who broke up Diana’s marriage.
The marriage took place on April 8, 2005. The public finds Camilla “genuine, down-to-earth, straightforward and approachable,” according to the book.
“Camilla will no doubt carry on doing her best. She will be the strength behind the crown and do her husband proud, and I suspect history will be a kinder judge of their story than their contemporaries have been,” Junor concludes.
Book Review: First considered ‘evil,’ this woman strengthened the British royal family
Book Review: First considered ‘evil,’ this woman strengthened the British royal family

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Puzzle of Ethiopian Politics’

Author: Terrence Lyons
The book offers insight into a political group, with its origins in a small insurgency in northern Ethiopia, which transformed itself into a party (the EPRDF) with a hierarchy that links even the smallest village in the country to the center.
“The Puzzle of Ethiopian Politics” offers a study of legacies of protracted civil war and rebel victory over the government, which continue to shape Ethiopian politics.
Terrence Lyons argues that the very structures that enabled the ruling party to overcome the challenges of a war-to-peace transition are the source of the challenges that it faces now.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Extinction of Experience'

- One of the strong points of the book is the author’s writing style and how she narrows down and simplifies the issue of technology dependency for readers
“The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World” by Christine Rosen, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, discusses how humans are relying heavily on technology and digital interactions in modern times.
Rosen argues in her 2024 book that this reliance has made people dependent on them for almost everything.
Digital experiences, according to the author, are replacing real-world experiences and, with time, this will push people even further from genuine contact and physical presence.
According to Rosen, this could potentially reduce people’s understanding of empathy and connection, or even memory.
She stresses the importance of utilizing technology wisely and calls for a critical and mindful approach to it. She also emphasizes the need to bring back genuine experiences through physical interaction so they can be treasured.
One of the strong points of the book is the author’s writing style and how she narrows down and simplifies the issue of technology dependency for readers.
On the other hand, its weaknesses — that have been highlighted by readers — are that some of its chapters lack a realistic view of the world we live in, and keep repeating issues and complaining about current problems without providing solutions.
Rosen is also the author of “My Fundamentalist Education” and “Preaching Eugenics.”
What We Are Reading Today: ‘India’ by Audrey Truschke

Much of world history is Indian history. Home today to one in four people, the subcontinent has long been densely populated and deeply connected to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas through migration and trade.
In this magisterial history, Audrey Truschke tells the fascinating story of the region historically known as India—which includes today’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan—and the people who have lived there. A sweeping account of five millennia, from the dawn of the Indus Valley Civilization to the 21st century.
What We Are Reading Today: The Cultural House in Riyadh

- The library itself is designed with comfort in mind, offering various zones, including a tech space, a kids’ area, flexible workspaces, and a cafe on the ground floor
I recently visited the newly opened Culture House public library, an initiative by the Libraries Commission and Riyadh municipality.
The library is part of the King Salman Science Oasis project in Al-Ta’awun neighborhood, and it exceeded my expectations.
Before visiting, I was aware that I needed to book a time for my preferred section. This is an important detail to note, as you must have a reservation to access any area of the library.
Upon arrival, I easily scanned a QR code, filled in my name and phone number, and waited just 10 minutes for my tour.
The staff at the library were exceptional; the representative who guided me was friendly and informative and made the experience more enjoyable.
The library itself is designed with comfort in mind, offering various zones, including a tech space, a kids’ area, flexible workspaces, and a cafe on the ground floor.
The first floor features the main library with ample seating for both group and solo activities, as well as an outdoor space. It was great to see workstations equipped with computers, printers, and scanners that facilitate scanning colored books.
I particularly enjoyed the outdoor area, which includes a playground and relaxing spots near the water, as well as food trucks. It’s a great place for families and friends to gather.
While I was unable to explore the middle or main section fully, I am eager to return.
A couple of guidelines to consider: The library’s washroom closes at midnight and while cycling on the grounds is not permitted, skateboards are allowed. Additionally, sitting on the grass is not allowed, though sitting on the floor is.
I highly recommend a visit to the library. The clean, quiet environment, combined with friendly staff and great amenities, makes it a standout space in Riyadh.
For a city of its size, I hope to see more libraries like this across the Kingdom’s capital and beyond.
What We Are Reading Today: Narcoland

- The book explains in detail how Mexico became a base for the mega cartels of Latin America and one of the most violent places on the planet
Author: Anabel Hernandez
This book is a product of years of investigative reporting, and is considered a publishing and political sensation in Mexico.
The book offers a definitive history and anatomy of the drug cartels and the “war on drugs” that has cost thousands of lives in the country, according to a review on goodreads.com.
The book explains in detail how Mexico became a base for the mega cartels of Latin America and one of the most violent places on the planet. The previous books of the writer have focused on political corruption in the country.