It took Queen Camilla years to get to be loved by the public, especially following the scrutiny she faced after Princess Diana’s tragic death. Today, however, Camilla is a much-loved member of the British royalty.
At the time the public learned of then-prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, she became the most hated person in Britain. At one point, she was even afraid to go out in public.
Charles and Camilla were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the Chilean ambassador, at a polo match. They started dating in 1972, but the relationship didn’t last long as Charles left to serve in the Royal Navy. When his duties there came to an end and he returned home, Camilla was already engaged to her now-ex husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
However, they never stopped being close. Even when Charles married Diana, he and Camilla stayed in touch.
Royal author Penny Junior claimed that Charles was aware he wasn’t in love with his future wife Diana, but it was already too late for him to call off the wedding.
“Charles was not convinced he was doing the right thing in marrying Diana but there was no way out and, bolstered by the hope that things would be different once they were married, he put a brave face on it,” she wrote, as reported by the Mirror.
What’s most, Camilla and Diana knew each other and got along, but then things changed.
“I met [Camilla] very early on. I was introduced to the circle, but I was a threat, I was a very young girl, but I was a threat,” Diana explained in the book Diana: In Her Own Words.
The love affair between Charles and Camilla started in 1986, according to Prince Charles’ authorized biography, as quoted by Town & Country. At the time, Charles was still married to Princess Diana and she eventually became aware that her husband was cheating on her.
Diana even confronted Camilla once, but nothing changed.
The phone call revealed an intimate and sexual exchange between the couple, which became known as Tampongate.
Despite the mistreatment from the press, the bond between Camilla and Charles prevailed. On April 9, 2005, the couple exchanged vows in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.
Later, at the wedding reception, the late Queen Elizabeth offered a toast to the newlyweds. However, she had other plans in mind, as she briefly stepped into another room to catch a horse race.
“I have two important announcements to make. The first is that Hedgehunter has won the Grand National,” the queen said.
“They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles. They have come through, and I’m very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves,” Queen Elizabeth II continued as she made a comparison with her horses.
Growing up, Camilla’s parents owned houses in both East Essex and South Kensington and were considered to be part of the elite of that area. Consequently, Camilla and her siblings, Annabel and Mark, had plenty of things, including ponies.
Speaking of her childhood, which she remembers as idyllic, Camilla said, “I was one of the very lucky ones, I had the idyllic childhood right in the country, sitting on the South Downs with my brother and my sister and our pets and our ponies. I think it was a very simple childhood.
“Sometimes in the summer, we used to ride to school on our ponies, probably something that’s more Australian than English, but we used to ride and then tie them up and ride back again. It just shows how things have changed because, in those days, there was nothing on the roads. Can you imagine now letting a child ride to school with its satchel on its back? I mean, it wouldn’t happen.”
As per Town & Country, Camilla’s parents shopped at the luxurious and famous department store Harrods, and Camilla learned the art of small talk from her mother who came from an aristocratic family.
“My mother was absolutely brilliant at making us speak to people,” Camilla told Women’s Day. “She used to have people to dinner; it didn’t matter who it was, old or young, some of them we thought were incredibly boring, but she used to sit at the end of the table and say: ‘Talk! I don’t care whether you’re talking about your pony or your homework, just talk!’ She was also quite forthright and never minced her words.”
Despite mastering this “art,” Camilla has always had problems with giving speeches.
Camilla attended the elite Swiss finishing school Mon Fertile, where she honed her skills with the guidance of sophisticated housewives. After her time in Switzerland, she continued her studies at the Institut Britannique in Paris, before eventually returning to London.
While married to her first husband, Camilla had a regular job. According to the Mirror, she worked as a secretary at several firms in London’s West End area and later as a receptionist at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in Mayfair. She studied at Dubrells School in Sussex and Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington before finishing school at Institut Britannique in Paris, where she studied English and French Literature.
In the book On The Fringe—A Life In Decorating, designer Imogen Taylor, who was a colleague at the interior design firm Colefax and Fowler, where the queen used to work, remembered a time when a young Camilla arrived late to work after a night of partying.
Taylor claimed Camilla was then yelled at and fired.
In 2016, she told the Sunday Times: “There were lots of debutantes working for us, even Camilla. She worked for us for a moment but got the sack.”
“He would shout and bellow so the whole building heard every word. The Duchess of Cornwall was one assistant who fell victim to one of tantrums. I think she came in late, having been to a dance,” Taylor recalled their boss’s temperament.
This, however, didn’t affect Camilla’s financial situation as she has been wealthy already.
Today, Camilla is one of the most beloved figures of the Firm.