Prince William Kisses Stepmom Camilla in Rare Public Show of Affection During French State Visit
Prince William and Kate Middleton recently joined King Charles and Queen Camilla to welcome French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, for their highly anticipated state visit. The Macrons’ welcome was a display of pomp and pageantry, with the royal family putting forward a united front. While the President winking at and kissing Middleton's hand during introductions made headlines, a sweet moment that went amiss was William’s planting a kiss on his stepmother’s cheek in a royal greeting.
The Prince and Princess of Wales made an impressive appearance to welcome the Macrons. Sharply dressed in a navy suit, William went to meet his father, the monarch, and the Queen Consort. After bowing to Charles, William was seen leaning in to kiss Camilla on the cheek, gently tilting his head to avoid knocking off her green hat, designed by Philip Treacy. The Prince’s sweet gesture has confirmed their amicable relationship and closeness in recent years.
According to Hello! magazine, royal expert Danielle Stacey shared her views on the incident, saying, “The warm greeting between the Queen and the Prince of Wales shows the deep mutual respect they have for one another. We've also seen them share a subtle giggle or two on numerous occasions in recent years.” The expert claimed that Camilla and William have supported each other when their respective spouses stepped back from their royal duties following their cancer diagnoses. She said, “Both of them shouldered public-facing duties at a time when the King and the Princess of Wales had stepped back for cancer treatment last year, and no doubt, Camilla and William will have provided emotional support to one another at a difficult time.”
Although rare, this was not the first time William publicly greeted Camilla with a peck on the cheek. Back in 2005, a few months after Charles had married the now-Queen consort, she shared a sweet moment with William while presenting him with his prize for the Burberry Cup polo match at Cirencester Park Polo Club. The two looked visibly cheerful as William greeted his newlywed stepmother.
Unlike William, his estranged brother, Prince Harry has a strained relationship with Camilla. In his tell-all memoir Spare, Harry went so far as to describe his stepmother as ‘dangerous.’ According to People magazine, the Duke of Sussex admitted to having requested his father not to marry Camilla. But when Charles disagreed, Harry claimed he felt, “In a funny way, I even wanted Camilla to be happy. Maybe she'd be less dangerous if she were happy?” The Prince added, “I had complex feelings about gaining a stepparent, who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
Clarifying his views on Camilla, Harry once also said in an interview, “I have a huge amount of compassion for her, you know, being the third person within my parents' marriage.” The Duke added, “She had a reputation or an image to rehabilitate, and whatever conversations happened, whatever deals or trading was made right at the beginning, she was led to believe that that would be the best way to do it.”