Clarence House insiders have bestowed Queen Camilla with a three-word nickname, as an acquaintance disclosed the “secret” behind her ascending success.
Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022, Camilla took on the title when Charles ascended the throne. King Charles III, during his first speech, gave thanks for his wife’s “loving help” and her dedication to “loyal public service.”
She was officially crowned as Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023, after King Charles III’s coronation ceremony. Nonetheless, journalist and writer Hilary Rose suggested that Camilla did not always appear destined for the title, with the late monarch once labelling her as “that wicked woman”.
Despite this, the bond between them grew as they discovered a mutual affection for horses and dogs. Consequently, Queen Elizabeth announced in 2022 her “sincerest wish” for Camilla to hold the title of Queen Consort upon Prince Charles’s succession.
Since acquiring her title, Queen Consort Camilla has had to step up as a pivotal Royal figure, this being subsequent to her spouse, King Charles’s cancer diagnosis. Princess Kate also disclosed her own struggle with cancer in March, resulting in Prince William dedicating more time to support his spouse and their trio of children, reports the Express.
In the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step down as working royals in January 2022, and Princess Anne’s hospitalisation following a horse-riding accident in June, Ms Rose noted that Queen Camilla has “increased her duties with a cheerful good humour and the vitality of someone significantly younger”.
Penning her thoughts in the Daily Mail, she stated: “She is referred to by some aides at Clarence House as ‘the lady boss’, and a friend mentions that she has succeeded ‘just by being herself’. They added that Camilla was not someone who could be easily manipulated, but neither was she prone to throwing tantrums.”
“After the melodrama involving Harry and Meghan and the debacle that is Prince Andrew, it was refreshing to have someone in the palace who remained composed and continued with their duties.”
“‘She is resilient, and she was raised with this extraordinary sense of duty,’ the Marchioness of Lansdowne shared with The Sunday Times just before the coronation. ‘It has served her very well.'”.
“As Tina Brown pointed out in her book The Palace Papers, if Camilla had a family motto it would be ‘thou shalt not whine’.”
On Saturday, November 28, Camilla was present at Holyrood as Charles addressed MSPs during a ceremony commemorating the Scottish Parliament’s significant 25th anniversary.
He discussed the “challenges we all face as residents of a planet whose climate is undergoing dangerous changes, and whose biodiversity is being severely depleted”.
Dressed in a kilt, the King expressed his wish for this to mark “the beginning of the next chapter”. He made these remarks during a speech in which he reflected on Scotland’s “uniquely special place” within the Royal family.