The Queen Consort has told how the Queen was happiest at her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland where she passed away aged 96.
Camilla, who recorded the tribute in the last three months, spoke of how the Queen expertly managed to juggle her duty to the country and the Commonwealth, as well as be a dedicated mother and family member.
In the three-minute clip, shown on the BBC following the national minute's silence, she also honoured Elizabeth II for carving out her own role for many years in the "difficult position" of being a "solitary woman" in a male-dominated world.
The Queen Consort said: “She made a rule that she had her private time and her private passions and then her public role and I think that is very important that, you know, the diary is planned out so you know when you’re on duty and when you’ve got to do things.
“Then when she went up to Scotland in August, you know that was the moment where it was her enjoyment.
“Although, she was probably working, you know with her red boxes throughout, she could have her family to stay, she could do the things she loved.”
In a clip showing the Queen excitedly exclaiming: “That’s mine, that’s my horse!”
Camilla told how the Queen delighted in being able to visit the royal stud on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
She said: “She could go every day, see her foals, work out you know, the next meetings for the year.
“I think she always kept that as you know, her, her private bit.
“You wouldn’t dare question her or argue with her on how horses are bred or how it ran because you’d get a very steely blue-eyed look back again.”
In another heart-warming recollection, Camilla told how on the day before she married Charles on April 8, 2005, in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, the Queen found it hilarious how she had mistakenly put on odd shoes before their meeting
She said: “I remember coming from here, Clarence House, to Windsor the day I got married when I probably wasn’t firing on all c-cylinders, quite nervous and, for some unknown reason, I put on a pair of shoes and one had an inch heel and one had a 2-inch heel.
“So, I mean talk about hop-a-long and there’s nothing I could do.
“I was half way down in the car before I realised and you know, she – she could see and laughed about it and said, ‘look I’m terribly sorry’ and she did, you know, she had a good sense of humour.”
Camilla also spoke how she bonded with the Queen over their love of animals and reflected on joint engagements of charities such as the Ebony Horse Club in south London and Medical Detection Dogs.
Camilla added: "She loved both of them you know, it was real sort of genuine enjoyment and she asked lots of questions and it was very nice to take her to things which I knew she would enjoy.
“She’s got those wonderful blue eyes that when she smiles, you know, they light up her whole face.
“I’ll always remember that smile, you know, that smile is unforgettable.
“She has been part of our lives forever.”
