Royal Staff Gave Charles a Brutal 3-Word Nickname During His Affair With Camilla, Claims Author

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ elaborate affair while they were married to their significant others remains a hot topic for tabloids even today. The couple, who carried out their affair in secret, employed clever tricks to hide it from their spouses. Though eventually exposed, the staff who helped maintain their privacy allegedly gave Charles a brutal nickname. Given he would leave Camilla’s chamber before daylight, they gave him the cheeky moniker, ‘Prince of Darkness.’

Charles and Camilla first met in 1970 and fell head over heels for each other. Even after marrying Diana in 1981, Charles couldn’t forget his old flame. According to the Daily Express, royal author Christopher Andersen revealed that Charles’ valet, Ken Stronach, was instructed to treat Camilla as the mistress of the Prince’s official residence. He added, “A guest room was assigned to her, but after midnight, the Prince of Wales would switch off the elaborate alarm system guarding his room so that Camilla could sneak in. Stronach was told to mess up the bed in Camilla’s room so that the servants would think she had slept in it.”

Reportedly, Stronach was also asked to thoroughly examine all glassware or used ashtrays to make sure there were no lipstick traces left from Camilla at Highgrove. Anderson added, “Once Royal Protection officers alerted Camilla that the Prince was on his way, all lights in the house were switched off so he could pull inside the driveway without being spotted—a bit of espionage Camilla’s servants called ‘The Blackout.’” Anderson claims the then-Prince planned prolonged periods away from Diana so that he could spend more time with his mistress.

Despite Charles' clever techniques to hide his rendezvous, Anderson said that Diana eventually came to know about his affair and was deeply hurt by the horrific ordeal. So she confronted Camilla during a private birthday dinner. In the Princess’ recorded interview tapes, which she later passed on to journalist Andrew Morton, she speaks about a ‘confrontation’ with Camilla. As reported by Cosmopolitan, Diana allegedly said, “I know what’s going on between you and Charles, and I just want you to know that.” In response, Camilla pointed out, “You’ve got all the men in the world falling in love with you, and you’ve got two beautiful children. What more do you want?” The Princess then exclaimed, “I want my husband.” Despite Diana’s pleas to Camilla to leave her husband alone, the latter remained undeterred.

Unsurprisingly, Diana and Camilla also had cruel nicknames for each other. Diana’s friend Simon Simmons explained that the late Princess called her 'the Rottweiler’ because once she sunk 'her teeth into someone,' Camilla never 'let go'. Similarly, royal author Tom Bower revealed in his book, Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion and Defiance of Prince Charles, that Camilla called Diana ‘a mad cow’ given the late Princess' own indulgence in affairs throughout her marriage and yet creating a fuss over Charles'.