Unlike the age-old, glorious, and unadulterated English landed Gentry of Buckingham Palace, the 21st century and its reign has stained British society with a mortifying mark of disgrace that can never be erased. And who does not like to revisit the past scandals and throw a fresh layer of dirt onto the wrongdoers’ names, especially when they have got a chance, like Netflix’s Royal history saga, The Crown? 

Out of all the ugly gospels and dark mysteries that lay buried behind the closed doors of the British royal family, the one that even put King Charles’s coronation at stake was the infamous scandal of the Tampongate. Although most of the millennials are already aware of the same, the current generation is still somewhat unclear about what actually happened. So, Gen-Z, scroll up to get the scoop!

The Crown: Charles and Camilla – The Tape, explained

Back in the days when King Charles and Princess of Wales, Lady Diana, were having a hard time with their already strained marriage, there were some underlying embarrassments that were taking their own shape. Before tying the knot with each other, King Charles was rumored to be involved in various private relationships, the most stigmatizing amongst them being between him and his mistress-turned-queen, Camilla. 

Although some of The Crown‘s episodes were smartly marked as “fictional dramatization”, others retained their charm for being ridiculously loyal to the history of the Royal Family. One such portrayal of what the Monarch might call his most dreaded nightmare has drawn all eyes toward it. As published by a significant news daily of that era, the headlines read, “Camillagate: The Manuscript”. 

It was reportedly a private phone call exchange between Prince Charles and Camilla. Both shared a marriage with their respective spouses at that time. The couple was under surveillance without their knowledge by Cyril Reenan, a ham radio enthusiast in Oxfordshire. The tape of the uncomfortable phone call became a household topic of condemnation the very next day. All of this led to a tragic divorce between Lady Diana and the despicable Prince. The transcript of the telephonic exchange explicitly revealed the sexual conversation between the two illegitimate lovers. 

In the released recording, King Charles had brazenly confessed his desires to his mistress. He had wished to be a tampon or a pant for Camilla in order to remain closer to her. The tape had many longer sexual transcripts that horrified the entire nation back then. To date, the King fears that he will never live the scandal down. Adding fuel to the fire was The Crown‘s sordid episodes that once again rubbed salt into their deepest wounds.

Did you already know about the scandal that rocked the Royal family in the 90s? Will you relive it in The Crown season 5?