Queen Camilla and Prince Harry have endured a very complicated relationship. The former entered the royal sphere shortly after the death of Princess Diana, and for Harry and William, it was tough to accept.

When the Duke decided to shed light on his life within the Royal Family via interviews and his book, Spare, Camilla was accused of several things, and today, their stepmother-stepson relationship lies in tatters.

Indeed, any reconciliation is extremely far away. Harry has reportedly tried to support his father as best he can during his cancer treatment, but even in challenging times like these, the tension between Harry and Camilla has remained. Sadly, a recent claim about their relationship paints a bleak picture of just how bad things have gotten.

Queen Camilla’s popularity among the public has enjoyed an undeniable upswing over the years. She was once the ‘evil’ person many blamed for the failure of King Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage. When she and Charles began dating—and later married—after Diana’s tragic death in Paris in 1997, many had problems accepting her into the Royal Family.

Prince Harry & Queen Camilla’s “tense” first meeting

Plainly put, the press mistreated Camilla. However, the bond between her and Charles conquered all. On April 9, 2005 the couple tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.

Yet it wasn’t just the press and members of the public who had a hard time accepting Camilla. Queen Elizabeth was said to harbor strong doubts, while it should go without saying that William and Harry were’t her staunchest supporters.

With Princess Diana’s passing, the brothers were left without the loving mother who had always endeavored to raise them just like normal children. In Diana’s place they got a stepmother in Camilla, though she and Harry clashed often.

Harry recalled his first meeting with Camilla as “awkward and tense.” In Spare, he wrote that William had “long harbored suspicions about the Other Woman.”

“I think the relationship between them all is warm now but if I’m honest, it wasn’t then. I think they found it hard,” a palace source told royal biographer Penny Junor, author of Prince William: Born to be King.

“To be fair to Camilla, she never tried to be mummy but she was the ‘other woman’ and she was there and taking daddy’s time.”

Royal expert says Prince Harry “can’t stand” Queen Camila

At the same time, other royal experts also paint a picture of Harry and Camila not getting along initially. In her book The Palace Papers, royal author Tina Brown wrote that Harry “unnerved” Camilla.

“When the younger boy was eventually prevailed upon to be in the presence of Mrs Parker Bowles, he unnerved her with long silences and smouldering, resentful stares,” she quoted a courtier saying.

Moreover – when it was announced that Camilla was to become Queen Consort – Brown claimed that Harry wouldn’t accept it.

“William has accepted Camilla in terms of what she means to his father. He’s been grown-up about it.

“My father loves this woman, I can’t fight it, so I won’t,” Brown said.

“Harry, on the other hand, can’t stand Camilla, he doesn’t want Camilla to be Queen, he’s very angry that it’s happening. He has not made his peace with it, and he probably never will.”

Harry and Camilla’s relationship has undoubtedly had its ups and downs. In 2005, when he turned 21, he said that he and his brother William “loved her to bits” and thanked her for making his father, King Charles, very happy.

Prince Harry and Prince William asked their father not to marry Camilla

At the same time, however, tensions between them have continuously resided. As a friend of the brothers once said, they have never been incredibly close to her.

Before Harry’s book, Spare, was released, the Duke did several interviews and spoke on some of the subjects covered in the book. For example, he explained how angry he had been over the treatment his wife, Meghan Markle, received, as well as the death of his mother. He also mentioned Camilla.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Harry revealed that he and his brother, Prince William, had asked their father not to marry Camilla. Ultimately, they changed their minds.

“We didn’t think it was necessary, we thought that it was gonna cause more harm than good and that if he was now with his person. That – surely that’s enough,” Harry told 60 Minutes. “We wanted him to be happy. And we saw how happy he was with her.”

During the interview with 60 Minutes, Harry continued to take swings at the Royal Family, and Camilla came under heavy fire.