In his first address as king, Charles talked about how much he had come to rely on “my darling wife Camilla”. At 75, the new Queen Consort is older than her husband is, and at an age when most people are well into retirement, enjoying freedom from work and the delights of grandparenting. Will she relish the role?
Perhaps the truth is that their romantic struggles, plus their well-suited personalities, have set them up for what once seemed impossible, a fulfilled life alongside one another.
“It would have seemed unbelievable at one time,” says Richard Fitzwilliams, former editor of the International Who’s Who and a commentator on royal events. “But the way she will cope is the way the two of them cope with everything – and that is, together. They’re ideal for one another: they share the same sense of humour, the same interests and the same friends.”
In his speech Charles referenced his wife’s “loyal public service”, but some see that as a process of sanitisation after a past sullied by her affair with the husband of arguably the world’s most popular princess.
Fitzwilliams agrees that, even 25 years on from her death, Diana has booby-trap potential for Camilla. “It’s a challenge whenever there’s a situation around Diana – for example, the next series of The Crown will focus on her life, and that could prove very unhelpful.”
But the past, even a past that starred glamorous Diana has proved easier to leave behind than many would have predicted a quarter of a century ago. Charles and Camilla have massaged her role in public life – notably hiring PR guru Mark Bolland to work his magic. Cleverly choreographed media appearances have helped change perceptions of her – a recent example being when she joined Mary Berry on our screens to announce the winning recipe in a competition to design a Platinum Pudding dedicated to the Queen.
Camilla undoubtedly has a strong and genuine record on charitable causes. Closest to her heart is the medical condition her mother suffered with and the organisation set up to support those affected. Today it has more than 60 employees, and in 2019 it was renamed the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Chief executive Craig Jones says the change was patron Camilla’s own idea, something she felt would give the charity more clout and credibility.
“Osteoporosis is a difficult cause because it’s surrounded by stereotypes and defeatism,” he says. “People think breaking bones is an inevitable part of getting older. Camilla knows it isn’t.”
Both Jones and Clare Periton, CEO of the Helen and Douglas House children’s hospice in Oxford, of which Camilla is also patron, says she is down-to-earth, unstuffy and engaged. “She knows about children’s hospices,” says Periton. She understands what they’re about, and time after time families who are daunted by meeting her come away saying they can’t believe how normal she seems.
The hope is that she can carry these qualities through to her new role as Queen Consort, something that will ensure the public get behind her as much as the new king.
