No, Camilla did not attend Diana's funeral. There was a strong public antipathy towards Camilla due to her having had a relationship with Prince Charles while he was still married to Diana, and it was deemed inappropriate for her to be attending.
Camilla may have been at Diana's wedding but she was not welcome at her funeral, which was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world. Still, to many her absence echoed around the ancient hall. The Queen made it clear to Charles that he could not take his paramour to the service.
Reports in the British press say Camilla had little desire to attend the ceremony from the very start, but was persuaded by her husband that, as his wife and stepmother to his sons, she should be at his side. But a negative public backlash changed her mind, some British newspapers reported.
In 1991, Diana revealed to biographer Andrew Morton that at her wedding, she looked for Camilla in the congregation. She revealed (per Good Housekeeping), "I knew she was in there, of course. I looked for her." She continued, "So walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, pale gray, veiled pillbox hat."
In The Crown this season, the two women even meet up for lunch after the big engagement. But did this really happen in real life? According to Andrew Morton's biography, Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, written with his subject's cooperation in 1992, it did.
Camilla did attend Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981. However, Princess Diana said that Camilla did not wear white, noting instead that the future queen consort donned a light gray for the occasion.
The reason why the Queen wasn't at Prince Charles' wedding
The Queen and Prince Philip were absent from Charles and Camilla's wedding because both the bride and groom had previously been divorced, according to The Telegraph.
Diana and Camilla might have never had a close friendship, but when Charles and Diana started dating the pair were friendly with each other. At the time Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles and had two children with him.
Prince Charles wasn't allowed to marry Camilla because of her past, and so, instead married Princess Diana.
A year after Diana's death in 1997, Charles and Camilla made their relationship public and eventually got married in 2005. On September 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles officially became King Charles III; Camilla will now be known as the Queen Consort.
“It was horrid,” Camilla admitted in a rare interview, of the media scrutiny that imprisoned her in her home after the shocking death of Diana, Princess of Wales. “I wouldn't want to put my worst enemy through it.”
TheTalko website revealed how Margaret took her disdain for Diana to the late Princess' funeral, refusing to bow her head as the hearse drove past. The publication claimed: "Even though the story was true, Margaret could never forgive Diana for making the family look bad.
One notable royal who refused to bow at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997 was Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince Philip was a close family friend to Diana and the two were known to have a close and complicated relationship.
Prince Harry 'cried once' over Diana's death: Duke reveals he broke down in tears at mother's burial and felt 'guilt' meeting mourners outside Kensington Palace during ITV interview with Tom Bradby to be aired at 9pm. Prince Harry has revealed he only cried once over the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
A source close to the royal family tells ET that the queen's eldest son, Prince Charles (now King Charles III), and his wife Camilla, who is now the Queen Consort, were able to see Her Highness before she died. Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Anne, was also able to see her.
Prince William and Prince Harry's step-siblings Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles made a rare appearance with the rest of the royal family during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth on Monday, September 19. Laura and Tom are Queen Consort Camilla's children, and don't attend too many royal events.
Diana was initially friendly with Camilla—until she found out about her relationship with Charles. Before that uncomfortable lunch, Camilla and Diana got along relatively well while the princess and Prince Charles were courting in 1980.
Answer: If Diana were still alive, Charles could remarry, because they were legally divorced.
King Charles III's reaction to the death of his former wife Princess Diana in 1997 reportedly shocked royal aides, with an expert claiming that he 'collapsed' and cried uncontrollably despite his differences with Diana.
There is no evidence of any connection between Camilla Parker Bowles and Princess Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd. Following the completion of her task, her relationship with Johnnie Spencer further deteriorated, with reports of furious rows.
Camilla was some 14 years older than Diana, so it's unsurprising that the 19 year old looked to her for advice. In fact Camilla was a closer contemporary of Diana's older sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who Charles also briefly dated.
How did Camilla get from Rottweiler to Queen Consort? “The Rottweiler” was reportedly one of Princess Diana's more polite nicknames for her husband's mistress, to use the term of the time. She was the woman Diana also referenced as “the third person in her marriage” to the-then prince of Wales.
It's rumored that Camilla's father planted a fake Camilla-Andrew engagement notice in The Times, apparently forcing Andrew's hand. Literally. Prince Charles returned home to news of Camilla and Andrew's engagement. According to Bedell Smith, that fake engagement announcement explains why Charles didn't marry Camilla.
The Queen bowed her head as a sign of respect to her late daughter-in-law, Princess Diana. As the Head of State, Her Majesty was under no obligation to bow to anyone, making the gesture even more poignant.
George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Although it is customary for guests to avoid any white clothing to prevent upstaging the bride, Camilla's mother-in-law the Queen waived this rule and stepped out in a stunning pale ensemble as she attended the latter with her late husband Prince Philip.