| Obituary: Major Bruce Shand |
|
|
|
| Written by Joanne Leyland | |
| Monday, 12 June 2006 | |
|
Page 3 of 5  Despite his admirable war record, sadly he was to come to wider recognition primarily for his role as father of one of the most famous mistresses in royal history.Although he'd accompanied his daughter to the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, he first truly came to the attention of the media when he accompanied Camilla to a service honouring the war dead at Westminster Abbey shortly after Camilla was revealed to be the heir to the throne's mistress in Andrew Morton's explosive book Diana: Her True Story. The Major rarely spoke publicly about his daughter's affair with the future King, although in 1996 he felt compelled to deny there was any rivalry between Camilla and Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the woman widely referred to throughout the media as a "surrogate mother" to Princes William and Harry. It was at this time that reports circulated alleging a romance between Charles and Tiggy, the story having been perpetuated by a defamatory comment made by the estranged Princess of Wales at a Christmas party when she confronted Tiiggy, saying she was "sorry about the baby" (the wholly false and distressing implication being her husband had impregnated their sons' 'nanny'). 
But it was in response to the claims of animosity between his daughter and Tiggy that Major Shand finally broke his self-imposed silence, Camilla's father saying of the newspaper speculation: "I've never heard anything to that effect, in fact rather the contrary." His loyalty towards, and love for, Camilla meant the Major wasn't always approving of the affair between Charles and Camilla. In the years following the 'War of the Waleses' and, the most embarrassing aspect of all, the publication of the sexually explicit 'Camillagate' tapes, Major Shand was reported to have requested a face-to-face meeting with the future King in which he admonished Charles for his behaviour. Although the meeting between the Major and the Prince was wholly private, aides noted that a clearly shamefaced Prince left the room with tears in his eyes, the strong words of his lover's father, a most dignified man, having truly hit home. The underlying message was simple: make an honest woman of my daughter or allow her to move on with her life. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
