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Pomp and circumstance, palaces and castles, servants at her beck and call, cameras capturing her every public move. All this and more is her reality now – whether she likes it or not.
Queen Camilla has never enjoyed the spotlight much, preferring to stay in the background and just get on with things. But thanks to her relationship with the new king, Camilla has become one of the most famous women in the world and all eyes will be on her as she and Charles forge their way ahead.
It’s a lot to take on at the age of 75 and Camilla will need to summon every ounce of inner steel to cope with the fishbowl of royal life.
Plenty of support has come her way following the queen’s death, with many believing she’ll do a good job by the king’s side. In many ways she’s relatable – a grandmother, a gardener, a jolly hockey-sticks type who plays Wordle every day and enjoys a good laugh and an evening tipple.
Yet it hasn’t all been plain sailing lately – the internet has seen to that. Camilla may rather be quietly sipping a glass of wine under the wisteria but she’s one of the leading figures in The Firm now. And popularity and brutality often go hand in hand.
A NEW GENERATION OF CRITICS
Camilla, once dubbed the most-hated woman in Britain because of her affair with Charles while he was married to Diana, was the focus of vicious online trolling in the days after the queen’s death.
TikTok videos, some of which attracted millions of views, ridiculed her appearance and pitted her against Diana. She was called “Cowmilla” and an “evil witch” who was “struggling to contain how happy she is” about the queen’s passing.
Generation Z, the vast majority of TikTok’s users, latched onto anti-royal sentiment which has been gaining momentum in some quarters and Camilla has been one of the targets of their vitriol.
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She’s no stranger to online backlash – it came down on her hard during Season 4 of The Crown, which dwells on Diana’s unhappiness over Charles and Camilla’s affair.
“It was very unkind to Camilla,” says royal expert Angela Levin, author of the new biography, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: A Royal Survivor.
Although friends claimed Camilla wasn’t bothered by her portrayal, Levin says it was “very painful” although she managed to rise above it and stay true to herself.
Camilla is an extraordinary woman, the author adds.
HARD KNOCKS FROM WITHIN
Levin describes Camilla as “her own woman who is happy to learn from others but comfortable in her own skin – quietly determined with a hint of vulnerability”.
She’s had to have a thick skin too at times. In her book, Levin says Prince Andrew “lobbied hard” to get the queen to push Charles aside and make the then-teenaged Prince William the first in line to the throne – with Andrew acting as regent until William came of age at 18.
The Duke of York was also “hostile” towards Camilla and tried to poison the queen against her. But royal insiders say Camilla refused to allow herself to be cowed by internal politics and worked quietly in the background until she eventually won over even the queen.
“Camilla hasn’t changed at all as a person,” says Amanda MacManus, who was Camilla’s private secretary for 25 years. “One of the nice things is that her position hasn’t gone to her head.”
SERVING THE QUEEN CONSORT
Camilla’s down-to-earth nature will dictate how she behaves as Queen Consort, those in the know say – and that applies to the people who will surround her from now on.
Queen Elizabeth had nine ladies-in-waiting to help her with day-to-day demands, many of whom she handpicked from aristocratic families and grew to be close confidantes with.
However, it’s believed Camilla will be doing things differently to her late mother-in-law. She’s expected to scrap the role of ladies-in-waiting in a bid to modernise the monarchy and reportedly considers it archaic to be surrounded by court ladies of noble birth.
“There are some positions that may no longer be filled,” royal historian Marlene Koenig says.
Until last year Amanda MacManus was her most trusted aide and was largely responsible for helping change public opinion about Camilla. She quit last year as she decided it “was time to take a break”, but some believe she may make a return to support Camilla as Queen Consort.
“Camilla hired Amanda after Princess Diana died in August 1997 and they are fiercely loyal to each other,” a royal insider says. “I’m sure she will come back. Amanda never goes away for long.”
Meanwhile another private secretary, Belinda Kim, who is described by aides as “extremely bright and capable”, is holding the fort.
FAMILY TIES
Camilla is the eldest of three children – her sister, Annabel Elliot (73) is an interior decorator and antiques dealer, and her brother, Mark Shand, died tragically in New York in 2014 at the age of 62.
Mark was in the Big Apple celebrating the end of a fundraising campaign for his conservation charity when he fell and hit his head, suffering catastrophic brain damage. He is survived by his daughter, Ayesha (27) from his marriage to French actress Clio Goldsmith (65).
Camilla and her siblings were raised in East Sussex by their father, Bruce Shand, an officer in the British army, and Rosalind Shand, who insisted her children join them at dinner parties to learn how to be socially adept.
“The minute there is silence, talk,” Rosalind told Camilla. “I don’t care whether you talk about your budgie or your pony but keep the conversation going.”
Camilla and Annabel are very close. Annabel stepped in to help her sister when news of her affair with Charles hit the headlines, whisking her to a secret venue away from the prying eyes of the world.
Annabel now works for Charles – the king hired her several years ago as the chief interior decorator for his Duchy of Cornwall estates. In 2014 she was named the fifth most influential female interior designer in the UK.
She is married to Simon Elliot, a Dorset landowner, and they have three children: Ben (47), a Conservative Party politician, Alice (45) and Catherine (41).
THE OTHER LOVES OF HER LIFE
Camilla’s two children from her marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles (82) both attended the queen’s state funeral. Son, Tom Parker Bowles (47) is a successful food writer and critic who’s produced several cookbooks and appeared as a judge on culinary reality shows.
During his late 20s he earned a reputation as something of a wild child. “I was naughty, I partied a bit too hard. But I loved eating and could just about string a sentence together, so I thought I could write about food,” he says, adding his mother’s cooking skills also inspired him to embark on a food career.
In 2005 he married fashion editor Sara Buys, with whom he has two children, Lola (15) and Freddy (12). The pair separated in 2018 and he went on to date former journalist Alice Procope, who died of cancer in March 2021.
Camilla’s daughter, Laura Lopes (44), is the co-founder of Eleven, a fine art gallery in Belgravia, London. Her husband, Harry Lopes, was a Calvin Klein model before becoming an accountant.
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They married in 2006 and have three children followed: Eliza (14), who was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and twin boys Gus and Louis (13). William and Harry attended Laura’s wedding and the stepsiblings are said to get on well.
Camilla is a doting grandmother who loves spending time with her five grandchildren. In the documentary Real Camilla: HRH The Duchess of Cornwall she describes the role “wonderful”.
“Yes, I’d recommend it to everybody. It’s very nice because you haven’t got the full responsibility. You can give them a wonderful time, spoil them, give them all the things their parents won’t allow them to have and then give them back again.”
She’s particularly bemused by her granddaughters and how quickly they’re growing up.
“They are beginning to get into clothes and makeup and, you know, it’s rather frightening when you see them, coming out with pierced ears and a lot of new makeup and funny coloured hair and stuff,” she told Vogue earlier this year.
DRESSING THE QUEEN CONSORT
Camilla has a strong sense of her own style but she does have help in the form of personal stylist Jacqui Meakin, who also dressed the Queen Mother.
Jacqui has worked for Camilla since her 2005 wedding to Charles and was responsible for styling Camilla’s debut on the cover of British Vogue in July this year.
She’s also helped Camilla assemble a working wardrobe appropriate for a woman of her age and standing – such as her flowing-style tunics and oversize Philip Treacy hats.
Camilla has been loyal to top London hair stylist Jo Hansford for 20 years and entrusts her with her flicked-out blonde hairdo.
KEEPING FRIENDS CLOSE
Camilla and Charles have long surrounded themselves with a tight-knit social group, who they trust and are loyal to them.
Among those closest to Camilla are Lady Anne Glenconner, who was maid of honour at the queen’s coronation and has described Camilla as “wonderful with a lovely sense of humour”.
Others in the inner circle include British artist Catherine Goodman, Lady Sarah Keswick, who’s one of Camilla’s oldest friends, and Kirsty Smallwood, a school friend and granddaughter of the press baron Lord Beaverbrook.
Then there’s Lucia Santa Cruz, daughter of a former Chilean ambassador. Lucia met Charles at a dinner party in 1969 and he’s said to have fallen for her hard.
“She was the first real love of his life,” a royal insider says. Charles even introduced her to his family at Balmoral before the relationship fizzled out.
Lucia moved into a flat in Belgravia, London, in 1971 and one of her neighbours was a young debutante called Camilla Shand. She introduced her to Charles – and set history on its course.
Lucia is close to Charles but is especially tight with Camilla and is one of her greatest admirers.
“Camilla hasn’t become at all imperious,” she tells Angela Levin in the biography about her friend.
ESCAPING THE MADNESS
When things get too much Camilla has her beloved Ray Mill House in Wiltshire to escape to. She took a brief break there following her busy and emotional first week as Queen Consort.
Camilla bought the Grade II property for £850 000 in 1996, a year after she split from Andrew Parker Bowles, and it’s the place she feels most at home.
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It served as the backdrop for her 75th birthday portraits earlier this year and it’s “where she can kick off her shoes and enjoy a gin and tonic,” insiders say.
The estate has six bedrooms, a swimming pool and sprawling gardens that include a duck pond, beehives and wild peacocks. She lived at the property, which is close to the royal residence of Highgrove, between 1996 and 2003 and has since kept it as a country base, indulging in her favourite pastimes of reading, gardening, walking and entertaining friends and family.
“It’s my refuge,” she told Country Life in July. “It’s the one place where I can be completely relaxed on my terms.”
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, hellomagazine.com, mylondon.news, vogue.co.uk, tatler.com, insider.com, guardian.com, telegraph.co.uk
