The Controversial Royal Family Drama

It has already been a month since Queen Elizabeth II passed away and Prince Charles III, age 73, has become king. However, the proclamation of the king has sparked renewed discussions on the scandals and controversies of the royal family. People are, once again, looking into the drama that has happened throughout the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

The Queen’s firstborn son and now-King Charles III became involved in a long controversy when he married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Diana’s marriage was thought to be a fairy tale as she became the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. But soon, following the announcement of their separation, Prince Charles admitted to having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and the royal couple divorced in 1996. Following the divorce, huge mobs of paparazzi would follow Diana around, and this led to her death in 1997. On the night of her death, Diana was fleeing away from paparazzi in Paris with her companion, Dodi Fayed, in a car driven by Henri Paul –Dodi’s bodyguard. But Paul was drunk, which led to his reckless driving. Eventually, the car crashed inside the Pont de L’Alma tunnel that resulted in all three passengers dead. Though the incident is generally perceived as an accident, Dodi’s father, Mohammed Al-Fayed, accused the MI6 and the Duke of Edinburgh of intentionally killing the three passengers; a claim that gave birth to hundreds of controversies.

The Queen’s second son and third child, Prince Andrew, was part of the biggest scandal of the royal family when he and his billionaire accomplice, Jeffery Epstein, were accused of illicit crime concerning assaults. With the great backlash that came from this accusation, Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military roles early this year.

Another controversy revolved around King Charles III and Lady Diana’s second son, Prince Harry, when he wore a Nazi costume to a party in 2005. The title “Harry the Nazi” was all over newspapers. The scandal was met with great backlash, and Prince Harry eventually stated, “I am very sorry if I have caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone. It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize.” 

Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were involved in another controversy that followed their marriage. Though many were praising the fact that a member of the royal family married a mixed race actor, the royal family had other opinions on the matter. The couple revealed in an interview that before the birth of their first son Archie, some members of the royal family were concerned about how dark Archie’s skin color would turn out. In addition, Harry and Meghan were no longer able to receive financial support from King Charles III, and so the two stepped back from the royal family.

While the world focuses on King Charles III and the future of the royal family, these controversies and scandals come to show that perhaps being in the royal family is not such a royal experience after all.