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King Charles III and Queen Camilla had a years-long friendship with Joan Rivers before she died in 2014.
“Charles was first introduced to the caustic comedienne — famous in America for her forthright humor and for her hilarious takedowns of celebrities on the red carpet at star-studded events — by mutual friends in 2003, while on a painting vacation in the south of France,” former royal butler Grant Harrold shared in his upcoming book, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service, according to an excerpt obtained by Us Weekly exclusively.
Rivers referred to Charles, 76, as “darling” following their first meeting, even though she had previously “poked fun” at him. Charles, meanwhile, referred to the comedian as “Miss Potty Mouth,” according to Harrold.
“Joan also hit it off with Camilla, which was why she was a guest at their wedding in 2005 and was a regular attendee at other royal events, including an appearance at the comedy show for his 60th birthday,” Harrold wrote, noting that Rivers “became so close” with the late Queen Elizabeth II as well.
“Publicly, she passionately defended the [king], once saying, ‘He is so charming, so humorous. All the passions that everyone used to laugh at him for — organic food, architecture, talking to the flowers, we’re all into those things now. He is so far ahead of his time, a very smart man and I adore him’ — words that anyone who got to know him would agree with,” Harrold added.
Rivers died at age 81 in September 2014 after experiencing complications during a minor throat surgery. Charles and Camilla released a statement at the time, sharing that they are “deeply saddened” over Rivers’ death and subsequently honored the late comedienne.
“Joan Rivers was an extraordinary woman with an original and indefatigable spirit, an unstoppable sense of humor and an enormous zest for life,” the statement continued. “She will be hugely missed and utterly irreplaceable.”
Rivers once joked during a 2010 profile with New York Magazine that although she was friends with Charles, she was not in the “inner circle” of the royal family. “Outer-inner circle,” Rivers quipped, noting that he would send her teacups for Christmas every year.
“One year, I took a picture under my Christmas tree with the teacups and wrote, ‘How could you send me two teacups when I’m alone?’ Another time I wrote, ‘I’m enjoying tea with my best friend!’ and I sent a picture of me in a cemetery,” she recalled. “He never acknowledges it!”
The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service is set to be released on Tuesday, September 23.
