Queen Camilla makes 'subtle jabs' at Prince William and Princess Kate

In one instance, royal author Robert Jobson describes how William and Kate kept the older couple waiting, to which Camilla responded with a “subtle jab”.

Standing outside Windsor Castle ready to leave in their security convoy, Charles and Camilla were left waiting for the younger royals who seemed to be a no-show.

Instead of continuing to wait for William and Kate, Camilla instead told Charles to leave the couple behind.

Jobson explained: “When Charles was kept waiting several minutes for the couple, Camilla insisted they go without them. As William and Catherine emerged, all they could see were the blue flashing lights of the motorbikes disappearing in the distance.”

William has previously been described as having an “uneasy” relationship with his stepmother, torn between his love for his mother, Diana, and his desire to see his father's happiness.

After years of being uncomfortable, it is thought the frostiness he felt towards the now Queen Consort thawed considerably when she married his father in 2005.

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However, despite previous squabbles, William and the current Queen are understood to have grown closer this year, as the pair have banded together to “nurse” the Crown in the absence of the King and Princess Kate following their respective cancer diagnoses.

With the monarch taking a step back from royal duties in Spring, and Kate recovering from abdominal surgery, it has been largely up to the two to pick up the royal workload.

Their increased share of duties has reportedly led to a special bond forming between the two.

“Recent events have obviously brought William and Camilla much closer,” said Jennie Bond, who worked for fourteen years as the BBC's royal correspondent.

“They have been left, almost literally, nursing the Crown while the King and the Princess recover.”

Speaking to Ok! Magazine in March, she added: “Apart from the business side of things, I’m sure they will have been an emotional help to one another as well.

“Both will have been so worried about these unexpected health issues and I imagine they will have shared their concerns.”