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Queen Elizabeth II recently announced on the occasion of her platinum jubilee, seventy years on the throne of Britain, that she would like to give Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and wife of the crown prince, the status of Queen Consort, when Prince Charles ascends the throne.
Royal analysts said the announcement was a well-deserved endorsement from the head of the royal institution after years of loyalty and hard work by the Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince Charles described it as a great honour for him and his “beloved”wife.
Since joining the family by marrying Prince Charles 17 years ago, 74-year-old Camilla has managed to play her part, becoming a senior figure in the British royal family.
But the Duchess of Cornwall’s path to popular acceptance was not easy, nor strewn with flowers. Initially seen as a controversial figure, Camilla was blamed by some for the crown prince’s failed marriage to the late Princess Diana and his divorce.
In 1994, Prince Charles admitted to cheating on his wife with Camilla, but said it came after his marriage to Diana “irretrievably collapsed”.
But their relationship did not become public until 1999 when they officially showed their emotional connection, and were photographed together outside the Ritz Hotel in London, part of a carefully planned public relations campaign.
Since then, Camilla has managed to win the loyalty of a large section of the public who was cautious in their view of her. She has been praised for championing and supporting causes, including literacy and animal advocacy charities, as well as organizations helping victims of domestic violence.
The Duchess also won support because of her strong position on the issue of combating sexual violence against women. In a speech in London last year, she referred to the issue of women’s road safety and the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer after she was abducted and raped and also called on men to “engage” in efforts to end sexual violence.
“She was loyal, discreet, committed to working with her charities, and always supportive of the prince,”says Penny Junor, author of writing about the royal family.
She adds that she received these tasks at a relatively late age, but they were always wonderful.
Born on 17 July 1947 to an upper-class family, Camilla Rosemary Shand is the eldest daughter of Bruce and Rosalind Shand, and grew up in the South Downs in rural East Sussex.
She is known for her love of horses, and says that in her childhood she almost thought of nothing except small ponies.
She was educated at Queen’s Gate School in the London borough of South Kensington, and completed her education in Switzerland and France.
Ordinary life
In 1973, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, a British Army officer, with whom she had two children, but their marriage ended in divorce in 1995.
Camilla’s other interests include reading. She spoke about the importance of children’s books and referred to the novel “Black Beauty”, which tells about the adventures and suffering of a beautiful black horse, as one of her favorite books, and is a fan of the “Hay” Literary Festival held annually in Wales. During the lockdown due to the corona pandemic, she created a reading club on the Instagram app.
The Duchess of Cornwall also admitted that she was “addicted” to following the Radio 4 series The Archer, which has been running since 1951 and tells the life stories of generations of farming families in Britain, and joked that she suffered “severe withdrawal symptoms” when the spread of the coronavirus caused episodes of the series to stop broadcasting.
“Many people have seen the good work the Duchess of Cornwall has done over the years, her loyalty, her sober nature and her seriousness of work,” says Victoria Howard, editor of the Crown chronicles.
“I think a lot of people were impressed to see this,”she adds.
Several royal commentators have also noted that Prince Charles seems more relaxed with Camilla at his side.
Before her marriage to the crown prince, the life of the Duchess was not palaces and public engagements, she always tended to quiet rural life, and sometimes this trend appears to her naturally.
In an interview in 2020, Camilla revealed that she was enjoying not having to wear formal clothes, and only having jeans during lockdown.
The Duchess, a mother of a boy and a daughter, also spoke of her love for her grandchildren, saying that missing them during lockdown was the “worst” she had ever experienced, and all she dreamed of was “running to them and cuddling”.
Junor believes Camilla will warm the role of Queen Consort, saying “she is playful, friendly and in her eyes twinkles. She makes people feel good when they are with her”.
Dispute resolution
When Charles and Camilla, who are both divorced, married civilly in 2005, it was announced that when her husband ascended to the throne, Camilla would receive the title of Princess Consort, rather than Queen Consort as is customary, due to speculation about popular sensitivity.
But experts on the royal family say the Queen’s announcement of her approval will now influence the public’s adoption of Camilla as Queen.
British royal customs on marriage differ between the wives of kings and the husbands of Queens, while the wives of Kings have historically received the title of “Queen Consort”, although the title does not confer any constitutional powers.
Both Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, received not the title of King, but the title of Prince Consort.
Peter Hunt, a former royal affairs correspondent, said:”for Camilla, the journey from being the third party in the marriage (of Charles and Diana) to a queen-in-waiting has already been completed.
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Emily Nash of ” Halo!”With Hunt’s opinion,” she says, ” by granting Queen Elizabeth her own royal assent to Camilla as Queen, bearing the title of Queen consort, she resolves the controversy that has been simmering for many years. I think that’s what will actually happen now.”
Penny Junor also emphasizes that” this is the desire of the Queen”, noting that ” it is not at all about Charles being stubborn and wanting this for the woman he loves. It is a proper endorsement from the top of the pyramid, and it is right, it is fully deserved, and it came exactly as it should”.
For historian Robert Lacy, the timing of the Queen’s announcement, less than a year after Prince Philip’s death, was impressive.
Lacey told the BBC: “she was clearly thinking about the importance of a partner and a partner to her. She recently lost her companion, and I think that’s a big factor in why we’re hearing this announcement now,”he said.
“They call it the company, and this makes Camila join the company properly,”he adds.