Camilla Parker Bowles is a controversial figure. She was the “other woman” back when Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married. She would later marry Charles, but the controversy over their affair would follow her for many years.
And most of the time, the Royal Family manages to keep their awkward moments behind closed doors. But Camilla Parker Bowles just can’t stop having awkward moments caught on camera. Here are the most memorable ones.
Fight with an umbrella
For all their wealth and fame, members of the Royal Family still experience some of the same struggles that we do. And in the case of Camilla Parker Bowles, that includes a sudden struggle with an umbrella on a windy day!
As reported by The Daily Mail, it all started with Charles and Camilla were visiting Malta in November 2015. As they began to exit the plane, they encountered some serious gusts of wind. Her umbrella was going in every direction, and she might not have been able to get off the plane without the assistance of a helpful stranger.
Even if you like Camilla, it’s tough to watch the video of this incident without hearing Looney Tunes music in your head!
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Commenting on Megxit
When it comes to controversy, it’s not always about what you say so much as how you say it. And that’s something that Camilla discovered the hard way!
She was attending the 40th anniversary of the Prospect Hospice Swindon shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle declared they would be stepping down from their royal responsibilities in January 2020. Entertainment Tonight reports that as Camilla was leaving, a reporter asked her, “Will you miss Harry and Meghan?”
It’s a simple enough question. But there was a long pause before Camilla answered. And when she did, all she said was “Course” before walking away. You don’t have to be a Royal Family scholar or body language expert to see that Camilla didn’t mean what she was saying!
Parker Bowles vs. bees
In the great outdoors, sometimes the biggest threats come from a very unexpected direction. And that’s something that both Charles and Camilla discovered when they visited Orokonui Ecosanctuary in the South Island near Dunedin in November 2015.
At first, the two seemed captivated (and a tad weirded out) by some kind of lizard. But while they focused on the lizard, a bumblebee set its sights on Camilla. She freaked out and tried to bat it away, causing it to head towards Charles. At this point, Sky News reports that the future King of England let out a “yelp in fright.”
It was a light moment, but watching royals lose a fight with a bumblebee will never not be funny!
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Forbidden romance on (audio) tape
The rest of this list is focused on awkward Camilla moments caught on camera. But one of her most awkward moments was caught on audio tape instead.
Before she married Prince Charles, Camilla was the “other woman.” Charles was having an affair with her while still married to Princess Diana. This would have been bad enough on its own, but when a recording of one of her phone calls with Charles leaked out, the event became an international scandal.
As The Mirror reports, the leaked audio dates back to 1989. It has some fairly risqué moments in it, but even the tamer portions are pretty strange. “I need you all the week. All the time,” Camilla said to Charles on the call. Charles then told her, “I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!”
The audio tape was released in 1993 and it made both Charles and Camilla look like awkward teenagers instead of famous dignitaries.
When hugs get awkward
For the most part, the Royal Family aren’t big fans of public displays of affection. And when meeting the Royal Family, giving them a hug is strictly against royal protocol, unless they’ve initiated it. Which is what made an unexpected hug from one of her supporters so awkward!
In February 2019, Camilla was visiting Liverpool and saying “hi” to the crowd. All of a sudden, a fan named Moonsun Kim gave Camilla a huge hug. As Hello! magazine reports, Kim later said, “I was so excited, I’ve never seen a member of the royal family before. I was passing and heard the prince and his wife were coming and decided to stay. I hope I wasn’t wrong to give her a hug.”
As for Camilla, she looked visibly very stiff before letting out a terse “Nice to meet you.” But her words didn’t seem to match her body language.
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Ignored by Kate Middleton
Everyone has had that moment where someone else tries to freeze them out of a conversation. But while most people stop doing that in high school, the practice seems alive and well in the Royal Family.
As reported by The Mirror, in June 2019, Kate Middleton was caught on video in the middle of an intense discussion with Queen Letizia of Spain. And while we don’t know exactly what they were talking about, you can see Camilla trying to get involved in the conversation.
At one point, Camilla says something directly to Kate and Kate ignores her and keeps talking. This takes the “cold shoulder” to a whole new level!
The original umbrella incident
Earlier, we covered Camilla’s legendary struggle with an umbrella while she tried to exit a plane. But there was an earlier umbrella incident that was equal parts cute and awkward.
In June 2018, Charles and Camilla visited Omagh in Northern Ireland to pay respects to victims of the 1998 bombing. Because the skies looked gray, Camilla had an umbrella to protect herself from the elements.
However, things got awkward when Charles tried to give her a kiss. As reported by Express, Charles “was forced to awkwardly duck under the umbrella to give Camilla a kiss.” And for the rest of the day, the umbrella served as a barrier between the couple.
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Parker Bowles vs. bald eagle
If you thought Charles and Camilla had bad luck with that bumblebee, you should see how they reacted to a bald eagle!
In July 2015, the two of them visited the Sandringham Flower Show. As People reports, they soon came into contact with a four-year-old bald eagle by the name of Zephyr. As the royals got closer, the bird unexpectedly and aggressively flapped his wings.
Even though they had met with this particular bald eagle before, the flapping threw Charles and Camilla off. And this resulted in photos of their facial expressions that made them look like royal caricatures!