It’s been a rough couple of days for Queen Camilla’s press team.
Over the weekend multiple headlines have run that claimed the wife of King Charles III hosted an exclusive Christmas luncheon with a very controversial guest list. Aside from the lovable Dame Judi Dench, attendees included two men who have launched attacks against Meghan Markle: Piers Morgan and Jeremy Clarkson.
OK! magazine has seemingly deleted an article titled, “Inside Camilla’s A-List Christmas Lunch Which Included Meghan and Harry’s Biggest Critics.” On December 19, Daily Express published the article, “Piers Morgan and Jeremy Clarkson ‘circling each other’ at Queen Camilla’s Christmas lunch.” The Independent claimed Camilla “hosted a star-studded lunch,” while covering the backlash.
This is not exactly what happened. According to the Daily Mail, Queen Camilla attended a VIP luncheon at the Michelin-starred London restaurant Murano on December 14—one day before Netflix aired part two of Harry & Meghan. The event was actually hosted by Ewan Venters, the former head of royal grocer Fortnum & Mason. Even so, it’s not a good look for the queen consort.
While 57-year-old Morgan’s numerous attacks against the Duchess of Sussex are pretty well documented, Clarkson may not be as familiar. In a recent column for The Sun, which was posted on December 16 and has since been deleted, the 62-year-old man wrote that he hates the Duchess of Sussex on a “cellular level.” Per People, he continued, “At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.” No lackluster Twitter apology could possibly make up for that level of vitriol—Game of Thrones reference or not.
Lest you think Camilla and Clarkson were simply two separate people at a party who have nothing to do with each other, royal expert Omid Scobie pointed out that Clarkson claimed the queen consort as a “close friend” four months ago.
