Double-O Camilla

Came up with this when I should be sleeping, so I thought I'd wake everyone else up too.

In the early 90s there was a run of leaks as the divorcing Prince and Princess of Wales fought it out in the media. The big loser in this was Camilla Parker Bowles, who was widely hated especially after a conversation between her and Charles containing an unfortunate tampon joke was reported.

But suppose there was more to that tape. What if that conversation revealed that the reason they hadn't married in the first place was that Camilla was in the British Secret Service and at the time chose her career over him? Among her missions were assassinations of those responsible for the Lockerbie tragedy and subtle aid in Eastern Europe without which the fall of Communism would have been both delayed and far bloodier. No matter what a newspaper's position was, it's unlikely any of them would pass on this kind of scoop if it somehow got past the government.

What would be the fallout from this revelation? Would foreign governments want her extradited? Would the media face problems or even charges for blowing her cover? And would there be any shift in support for Prince Charles and his mistress once it was revealed that the Rottweiler was as deadly as her nickname?
 
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But suppose there was more to that tape. What if that conversation revealed that the reason they hadn't married in the first place was that Camilla was in the British Secret Service?

Um, RPB would be delighted to have close protection for Charlie sorted so easily. I mean, really delighted.
 
Change in operational status. Close protection doesn't require being undercover. RPB does close protection.
Sorry, I'm not making it clear. Camilla is the one choosing being a field agent over being Princess of Wales. Ive made the correction above.
 
Decided to add some of my own thoughts in the hope of spurring discussion. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc have basically been replaced by successor states, this leak is going to make things diplomatically awkward for the Royal family and the British government. I don't think any foreign governments would demand her head, nor do I think Britain would disavow or extradite her.

Because despite how difficult the situation would be, British morale would be extremely high on hearing the pivotal role an English spy played in ending the Cold War. This is bad news for Diana, as the court of public opinion is longer a glamorous philanthropist verses a stuffy German and his horsey mistress. She's suddenly faced with having to bad mouth a national heroine. I think that without that bad press, her position going into her title fight will be even worse than the OTL.

The good news for her is that's probably enough to butterfly away the fatal car crash. The bad news is she's likely to live to see the third person in her marriage the Princess of Wales and crowned Queen.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
What if that conversation revealed that the reason they hadn't married in the first place was that Camilla was in the British Secret Service and at the time chose her career over him? Among her missions were assassinations of those responsible for the Lockerbie tragedy and subtle aid in Eastern Europe without which the fall of Communism would have been both delayed and far bloodier. No matter what a newspaper's position was, it's unlikely any of them would pass on this kind of scoop if it somehow got past the government.
what

Is the PoD meant to be that Camilla Parker Bowles was recruited by the Secret Service when she was a debutante or whenever, or do you think she is a Smiley-style agent of the Secret Service?
 
what

Is the PoD meant to be that Camilla Parker Bowles was recruited by the Secret Service when she was a debutante or whenever, or do you think she is a Smiley-style agent of the Secret Service?

It's fairly clear that the OP had James Bond in mind rather than any realistic basis of secret agent.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Came up with this when I should be sleeping, so I thought I'd wake everyone else up too.

In the early 90s there was a run of leaks as the divorcing Prince and Princess of Wales fought it out in the media. The big loser in this was Camilla Parker Bowles, who was widely hated especially after a conversation between her and Charles containing an unfortunate tampon joke was reported.

But suppose there was more to that tape. What if that conversation revealed that the reason they hadn't married in the first place was that Camilla was in the British Secret Service and at the time chose her career over him? Among her missions were assassinations of those responsible for the Lockerbie tragedy and subtle aid in Eastern Europe without which the fall of Communism would have been both delayed and far bloodier. No matter what a newspaper's position was, it's unlikely any of them would pass on this kind of scoop if it somehow got past the government.

What would be the fallout from this revelation? Would foreign governments want her extradited? Would the media face problems or even charges for blowing her cover? And would there be any shift in support for Prince Charles and his mistress once it was revealed that the Rottweiler was as deadly as her nickname?
Actually to seriously address some of this, assuming that Camilla was recruited in in the 60s, it's more than likely that, given her already high profile, she is unlikely to become the Prince of Wales' mistress purely because of the fact that her cover could be blown by a reporter and an unscrupulous newspaper ignoring a D-notice.

Assuming she would have been recruited by the Secret Service, it's unlikely she would, as a woman in the 1960s, be doing any form of wet work - more than likely she would have been a Secretary or Administrator who did data-gathering in the field along the the lines of Stella Rimington. And even if she was a field agent performing assassinations, assassinating those responsible for the Lockerbie bombing would produce butterflies given how the British response wasn't to order their own Wrath of God against those responsible, instead choosing to investigate and arrest.

If Camilla, a Secret Service agent in this scenario, was uncovered as such so publicly (which would be unlikely as the revelation of the relationship came at a time of intense Press defanging at the hands of the PCC), then the Secret Service would come under intense scrutiny for spying on the Royal Family in such a manner, with calls for an investigation into and greater transparency from the organisation. The British Government would have a free hand to introduce laws that would all but kill the free press. Charles would be publicly humiliated- the question of whether or not he would still become Monarch is thrown into the air.
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
@BigDestiny
It sure is quite a story idea. As noted by posters who really know their stuff on this subject, it is rather strongly implausible though.
 
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