A royal expert claims Queen Camilla “has always been a little afraid of” her stepson, Prince William.

Prince William and stepmother Queen Camilla still have “a lot to overcome” in what royal experts have dubbed a complicated relationship. William “tolerates” his stepmother, who “has always been a little afraid of” him, as royal expert Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly.

Even so, the 42-year-old heir to the British throne “has warmed up to Camilla over time,” according to a Parker Bowles family friend.

Another insider told the outlet that there remains “a lot to overcome” for William and Camilla, 77, given her affair with King Charles during his marriage to the late Princess Diana. The now-queen was married at the time to Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she shares son Tom Parker Bowles, 49, and daughter Laura Lopes, 46.