If you thought the Duchess of Cambridge was the only one with an Embiggening campaign, you were wrong. It seems like the Duchess of Cornwall is also getting some PR to assert herself into the larger conversation about the future of the monarchy. I’ve always wondered how Camilla actually feels about the Cambridges’ “future king and future queen” PR – it’s clear that Charles is irritated by it, but how about Camilla? The thing is, I actually believe that Camilla isn’t all about that Queen Consort Life. She’d be happier at her (separate) country home, mucking around with horses, dogs and grandchildren. Or better yet, she’d be happier on a comfortable couch with a bottle of wine. So in that way, I don’t even think that Camilla cares about her future role, whenever it may come. But maybe we’re overlooking something: Camilla might be defined by how she changed Prince Charles from dour to… funny?
Few are unaware of the turbulent history of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall’s relationship – a love story that viewers have been watching play out on Season 3 of The Crown. And now a royal biographer has offered further insights into the pair’s relationship. Speaking to Hello! magazine, Penny Junor, author of such books as Charles: Victim or Villain? and The Duchess: The Untold Story, believes that Camilla is responsible for eliciting a positive change in her husband.
71-year-old Charles and 72-year-old Camilla celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary in April of this year. Junor states that having once been somewhat ‘sullen’, it was the Duchess who imbued the royal with a ‘great sense of humour and fun’.
Not only has the Duchess helped to make the Prince of Wales significantly happier, but more secure in himself too, according to Junor. She highlights that having once felt like he was always ‘in waiting’, he has come to feel a sense of certainty and security in himself and his role as future king. The royal expert described having ‘seen a huge change in Charles over these past years. He used to be quite a morose character; he was very serious and didn’t laugh a lot. Camilla snapped him out of that and she has completely transformed him. He is a much happier man and has so much more confidence these days. It’s wonderful to see’.
Charles’ PR experts rebranded Camilla and their relationship over the years as a “true love, finally together” story. Even given all that we know about Camilla’s journey from girlfriend to royal mistress to homewrecker to beloved drunk duchess, that’s still a whitewashed story. Camilla clearly wanted to marry Andrew Parker Bowles and she loved him a lot. I don’t even think she really WANTED to homewreck Charles’ first marriage. Charles did that on his own. What I’ve always bought is that for Charles, Camilla was the one who got away and the only woman who really understood him and supported him. So in that sense, I can see how Charles blossomed when he finally got to be with Camilla out in the open. So I guess I sort of agree with Penny Junor? I mean, Junor is still whitewashing the f–k out of all of this and trying to make it into some kind of realistic senior-citizen fairy tale. But this can also be true: Charles really is a lot happier and more content with Camilla.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
Camilla’s stench will never dissipate. No matter how many years and whitewashing articles. Same with Charles. I can’t imagine how the boys must have felt all these years after understanding what they did to Diana. Their sense of family must be worlds away from what most of us experience just due to that.
Yep. He proposed to a teenager he didn’t love. And they wonder why it turned out badly?
Junor is so adoring of these two, with her cloying comments. Charles never was without Camilla she was there while she was married to APB while she and Charles were married to other people, and after. I don’t feel sorry for either of them. Camilla even “approved” the teenager and was “helping her” (aka helping herself). Charles is not smart to keep this blaring publicity it will only annoy people other than those like Junor who adore this couple.
I really think Charles gifted Penny Junior with her own set of royal-approved knee pads. She is cringeworthy in her adoration of all things Charles. He also had multiple mistresses throughout Camilla’s tenure, but the fairytale these people are weaving is making them all disappear as they rewrite the undying love that existed between these two from the first moment of their meeting. I swear their playbook is George Orwell’s book, 1984.
Exactly! If “Camilla never wanted to be a home wrecker” (HA!!) she would’ve cut off ALL contact with Charles after he got engaged, or at the very longest, when he got married. No more “affair of the heart” communications, especially ON HIS HONEYMOON, no more gifts, no “befriending” of Diana. That poor girl was literally a lamb led into the slaughter house by the both of them (and their families).
Sorry… C&C are both horrible people, users, selfish to the core.
Agree TheOG — Diana had issues and I have mixed feelings about her, but Charles’ loyalty was not to his wife or to his marriage from beginning to end. All his blather about being faithful until the marriage “had irretrievably broken down” is just BS. He was emotionally cheating on Diana before he even proposed to her. There were always three of them in that courtship and marriage and — quiet frankly — poor Diana was the third wheel, not Camilla as far as Charles and Camilla were concerned.
Charles had issues. Big Time, the worst I think was a sense of entitlement. ANd his grandmother helped make him feel he was the Center of The Universe. Diana was 19 and about 13 years younger than Charles. He thought Diana would be “OK” with the set up apparently like Camilla’s husband apparently was. He was in contact with Camilla the whole time and they met up at hunts and social gatherings where very often Diana was not present. Camilla also called the shots. Diana complained about it and Charles would not listen and his friends were complicit since they provided places where Charles and Camilla could meet without the wife finding out. And they were all nice to Diana’s face.
My daughter is the age Diana was when she got married. I can only imagine if my daughter was in the same situation, falling in love with an older man and then finding out he never loved her and had a side piece. And that she was just supposed to be a brood mare. C and C are despicable people, as is the whole BRF.
“senior-citizen fairy tale”
hahahahahha. My insomnia is kicking my butt at 4;30 am. But thanks for the LOL.
More like a nightmare. It is a shame Diana had to get anywhere near this toxic pair.
Yeah I find it so disrespectful to her children with Andrew Parker Bowles these stories. It completely erases Camilla’s love for her first husband. She chose Andrew not Charles.
I also think it’s disrespectful to Harry and Will. their dad is finally happy now that he’s married to the woman he really loved and not their dead mother? ugh.
I think Harry and Will know that their dad wasn’t happy with their mom and vice versa. Everything played out so publicly. Charles and Diana both gave interviews about it. It would be different if things had stayed behind closed doors, but they didn’t. I honestly think they were probably completely fine with the divorce because it put a stop to the “war of the Waleses.” It can’t be easy to have your parents battling it out through the tabloids like that.
Dad was Always Happy. He married Diana to get heirs apparently he did not think Camilla was “acceptable” for him to marry and have heirs with. I am not sorry for Charles in the least. How could it stay behind closed doors? Charles friends started in the eighties leaking stories, Nicholas Soames was particularly involved in this and Stuart Higgins of the Sun wrote that Camilla would ring him up with “her side” of the story. Charles had to court a teenager to get heirs, he admitted later he did not love her. What sort of 32 year old man does that sort of thing. I don’t think Charles is capable of real love. And Camilla putting down the wife was loathsome. Diana may be dead but her story will always be out there. She should not have had to be brought into a marriage where another woman was calling the shots. “Finally Happy” why is it so imperative that Charles be “happy” he caused a lot of pain in his “quest” for “happiness.” He even cheated on Camilla. I think it is disrespectful to William and Harry to glorify the mistress. Andrew Parker Bowles was “OK” with Camilla being with Charles but Charles outing her caused the divorce. I think Charles should have been given the same choice as Edward VIII.
Oh dear God, Tessa: if Charles was given the choice, Camilla or abdicate (figuring she was willing, which she *wasn’t* – she wanted APB, NOT Charles), THAT WOULD’VE MADE ABUSER ANDY THE HEIR APPARENT!!!
Charles was involved with Camilla during the marriage to Diana. He had heirs so if he wanted to marry divorced Camilla and after he divorced Diana he would be told to step aside..
I was referring to BEFORE he married Diana (your parallel to Edward abdicating for “love”). If Charles told his family to bugger off to marry Cam, then H&W would not exist (no marriage to Diana).
OG, I think Charles could have married Camilla Shand but he as he told his biographer was not ready to marry. Even so, he still could have told her to wait for him and they would eventually marry. He never did. So his family did not “forbid him” and this is according to the Prince’s own account. Charles never even put Camilla forward as his future wife. THey were both single and I think if he really wanted to he would have been allowed and it could have been spun that they enjoyed the country life and sports and had a lot in common, etc etc. But when she was married, it was more difficult. He could have forced a divorce then but I think he really wanted to be King. I do think he would have chosen the throne over forcing a divorce and marrying Camilla who would have been a divorcee with two young children. This was before he married Diana. If he wanted heirs, it may have been that if he married Camilla he’d have to step aside and future children with Camilla probably would have been not allowed in line of succession. If Charles stayed on the throne with Camilla as mistress and did not force divorce, maybe he would have outlived Andrew and Bea would be Queen. These are all what ifs of course.
It’s disrespectful to both sets of families, period.
I really do not think Camilla in any way disrespects her children with Andrew Parker-Bowles. The Parker-Bowles kids knew what was going on with their parents marriage. Laura & Tom were not traumatized in the same was as William & Harry if they suffered any trauma at all.
Camilla & Andrew with their children are at the highest level of the non-titled aristocratic gentry and run with all “sets” in the UK. IMHO, I have no doubt the Parker-Bowels kids new and understood from the earliest age a kid can understand this stuff. Charles was consider almost an uncle and was godfather to one of the Parker-Bowles children.
BayTampa, this was later. Tom Parker Bowles was into drugs and he had a tough time at school since he was teased especially after Charles confessions. Also, he tried to hide that his middle name was Charles. Laura Parker Bowles would scold Charles when he called and asked for her mother (leave her alone) or so I read. There was Trauma. Big Time. Camilla put Charles first and being his mistress. The children were in boarding school I don’t think a child likes this sort of t hing.
After she had the children with APB and Laura was very young, Charles told Dimbleby he resumed his relationship with Camilla. That alone is rather damning to me.
Agree Tessa. Also, Camilla’s father was quoted as being very angry with Charles and felt Charles had selfishly used and continued to use her throughout the years. He was quoted as telling Charles to his face that he thought Charles was a very selfish And dishonorable man who cared about no one but himself. After the divorce with Diana, her father supposedly believed that Charles was still selfishly capable of not committing to Camilla and took him to task over that as well. (seems Charles was a bit afraid of Camilla’s father as he spoke to him just as Phillip speaks to him.).
One of the royal biographies about William does have a bit about an argument with Laura. She was upset and said something about -Your father *something* our family. It was a negative word and I can’t remember it.
I don’t understand. there’s been rumours for years that they lead totally separate lives.
I don’t even think those are rumors. I think its been basically confirmed, but I think they are separate lives in the way that many rich couples lead separate lives. Charles is incredibly busy, and I think Camilla does her work and then goes home to her horses and grandchildren and a nice glass of wine. I get the impression she is only in London when she has to be for work, but that could be wrong.
Meaning – I don’t think their separate lives are because they hate each other .
I also think they take many vacations together, are together for important events and are together when they want to be.
I know many wealthy couples in Florida that have two sometimes three homes (Florida, up East and out West) and run between the homes but not always together. I do not find Camilla & Charles domestic relationship strange in the least. They have different personalities and like to do different things. They have worked to make it work.
I think that works for aristocrats.
Charles outed Camilla in 1994 and at that point, I think he was obligated to her. I do think she spends much time at her residence in Raymill.
Charles and Camilla really do seem to enjoy each other’s company and Charles seems happier around her.
Their past has definitely been whitewashed but I think it’s interesting to see from a PR perspective how it happened – they took their time, they didn’t expect the public to love her immediately, and while there are obviously still people who loathe her for being the other woman, her public image has obviously come a long way.
Charles always got his way. He even looked happy around Diana early on so the his looking grumpy before Camilla to me is fake news. But that said, he wanted the heirs and just married Diana knowing he did not love her. I also don’t care that Charles allegedly looks happier–he seems to be mugging and pulling faces more. Why must he be the one who “has to be happy.” He has no more right to it than others. He made Diana’s life miserable to achieve “happiness.” He was helping himself to his pleasures and happiness for years. They had no choice to take their time, Camilla is not universally loved to say the least. Charles took his time he did not need any more heirs so there was no rush. His grandmother did not want to see him marry Mrs Parker Bowles –she would not receive her after the divorce from APB. Also some revelations came out during the Burrell trial plus Charles hired an expensive spin doctor to work with her. I don’t buy into spin and I see her as the same scheming person she has always been and she does do the minimum of work. She apparently has absolute contempt for Diana since she still cooperates with Penny Junor (Junor is her personal friend and said that she worked with both Charles and Camilla on her books). Junor’s books include vile comments about Diana which apparently Charles and Camilla condone. She has gone nowhere as far as I’m concerned.
I mean Tessa, we all get it. You hate Charles and Camilla and think Diana was a saint.
I still think Charles and Camilla seem to enjoy each other’s company and Charles seems happier around her. He’s not some Oscar caliber actor.
I think it’s true, but kind of think it’s disrespectful to say publicly.
This right here is proof that Charles can initiate and sustain a positive PR campaign as Camilla’s image has come a long way. But he refused to do the same for his son and daughter in law. To me Camilla does not pose a threat to Charles in the popularity game and she can take care of herself, so that suits Charles fine.
Charles is the reason that Harry had such a bad reputation during his late teens and early 20’s. He’s always used both his sons (but Harry got it worse) to boost his image. He’s never tried to help them repair their images either. The only person that Charles protects is Charles. The positive PR campaign makes Camilla look good, but it makes Charles look good too. He tried to get some positive PR out of the smear campaign by framing himself as the sad father of two horrible wayward sons. He’s not going to suddenly change now and start helping others with their image. He never has and never will.
I totally agree! Couldn’t he have gotten some of his PR people to work with Harry and Meghan? ANd helping Camillla is really helping himself since both were involved in the relationship. Diana too has been thrown under a bus by Charles’ sympathizers with rather vile things said about her.
I thought I read on here that Lady Tryon was, by Charles’s own admission, the only woman to truly understand him.
Also, I bristle when I hear that line from people, but especially men. If no one “gets” you, perhaps you should work on your interpersonal skills.
Also, I’m tired of this hateful family – and maybe that’s because I got a sense through this story, that there’s a setup for William and Kate. He too has a garbage personality and only the love of her keenness can see through it to transform him. Blech.
Yep! Kanga was a huge part of his life. She and Diana teamed up for a bit to try to snub Camilla.
Another one of Charles’ long term flings ) actually a long term hook-up) was one Eva O’Neil. Eva O’Neil is the mother of Chris O’Neil and the Mother-in-Law of Princess Madeleine of Sweden.
Janet Jenkins was Charles off again on again lover. They were involved in the eighties and in the early nineties. She hinted that her son Jason is Charles’ son.
Why anyone would want to hit that is beyond me. When he was young, middle aged, now, yuck. There’s nothing attractive about chuck, not physically or personality or even royalty.
+ 1
I think his looks improved with age, up to a point. Chuck was better looking as a middle-aged man than he was as a chinless youth with an oversized honker.
Will, in contrast, was handsome when young but his looks are definitely gone downhill.
Nice try PR flunkies but we will never forget her antecedents. #Cowmilla
Camilla being successfully rebranded into a doting, once-in-a-lifetime partner for Charles when she was once so hated people would scream at her in public is one of the reasons why I’m so disgusted with Charles, perhaps even more so than William (The Queen is another matter, as she is using her power to shield an actual criminal. She is much worse than her son and grandson IMO).
Anyway, I can now see that when it matters to him, Charles CAN step up and use his media connection to protect the people he loves. But his youngest son’s wife? His own grandson who was being called a monkey 2 days after his birth? That was too much for him apparently.
That’s partially us moving forward as a society, though. There was absolutely no reason for her to be THAT hated. Strangers yelling at her in the streets for having an affair is a pretty f–cked up story, to be honest.
I always find it weird that people complain about the whitewashing of Camilla while whitewashing Diana. Diana had an affair with their riding instructor – an employee. The whole lot of them were kind of awful spouses – but so many people seem to forget about all the crap things Diana also did over the years. She was also sneaking around with the married art dealer Oliver Hoare – who was friends with Charles and a father of three…. so pretty much the same situation as Camilla.
I feel like Diana was sort of finally doing what was expected of her as the aristocratic wife of an aristocratic man by having lovers during her marriage to Charles after the heirs were born. It’s not like she was sneaking around behind her very loyal husband’s back. She was just playing her role as the legal convenience wife of the prince of Wales who married her in order to produce legitimate heirs only, but who would much prefer to spend his time with his mistress, and probably even hoped that his wife would take care of her “needs” elsewhere. I’m not sure that I would consider Diana having a relationship with her riding instructor only after Charles had made it very clear to her that he had always been cheating on her, was cheating on her then, and would continue to cheat on her for however long their “marriage of convenience” lasted, anywhere near as hurtful, sneaky, or just plain wrong as what Charles did to her. I don’t even know if it’s really an affair. It’s more like she had an open marriage forced on her and decided to take advantage of it.
Diana was blindsided to find out about Camilla and was heartbroken to have been lied to and betrayed. Charles… probably wasn’t any of those things when he found out Diana had boyfriends. In fact I would imagine he was probably relieved that she had “friends” to “amuse her” while he was out with Camilla. Their marriage was broken by that point. And it was broken by Charles. It seems almost cruel to expect that Diana would remain chaste and faithful to a man who didn’t then and never had loved her or intended to be faithful to her.
There are people who quietly loathe her. Diana had the affair after Charles ditched her and she knew Camilla was now fully in charge and Charles made no pretense of caring for her. In fact, Charles treated Diana with more contempt. Even putting her down in public. Diana did not sit in the Church watching a significant other get married nor sent gifts to anybody on his honeymoon to wear in front of his bride. Nor “befriend” a teenager to keep in control. Camilla did all of that. The Riding Instructor did not work for Diana. Hoare was “sneaking around” with Diana and he had a habit of comforting “unhappy wives.” He was seeing a woman whose husband had a child with another woman and she came forward and gave an interview. Hoare knew Diana was vulnerable at the time. But neither Diana nor Hoare ever confirmed or denied the nature of their relationship and both are dead now. It was not the same situation as Camilla.
Camilla was involved in the courtship, engagement, and marriage of Charles and Diana. The Whole Time. She helped break up the marriage and was a huge contributing factor. Diana moved on After Charles ditched her. No it is not the same and saying what Diana did does not change that. Diana was 19, Camilla was 33, a huge age gap and Camilla was undermining the wife every step of the way.
Camilla’ and Charles’ behavior was always loathsome she can be dressed up but I keep seeing her in those photos with the teenage Diana and those photos make my skin crawl. The most vile thing is that they cooperate with Junor and trash Diana years after she died.
I have completely missed the ‘drunk duchess’ stories? However drunk Charlie I’m totally on board with. Where is that from?
Camilla does a good job of flying under the radar. This reeks of Charles
Lmao. Here comes the Camilla love pieces.
Horses, grandchildren and wine, sums it up. Well almost, adultness. Has she ever expressed sorrow for bringing so much psychological harm to an innocent young woman? Diana deserved so much more, and to the BRF, schadenfreude.
She was not sorry. She was even ready to walk into the Diana Memorial Service until the last minute when there was too much public outcry.
“She was even ready to walk into the Diana Memorial Service until the last minute when there was too much public outcry.”
WOW. i did not know that. That’s shameless if true.
It is indeed. I think there are still articles about it in Google. The Memorial was organized by William, Harry, and the Spencers. I believe Charles wanted to play Happy Families so he wanted to go with Camilla to the Service. Camilla was scheduled to attend. But there was a lot of public outcry and at the last minute Camilla issued a statement declining. So she thought apparently she could get away with strolling into the event and “paying tribute” To Diana. Charles also should have stayed away but that’s my opinion.
Now a period of Camilla Promotion again. Horrible.
Hm. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a Camilla fluff piece or do I not pay attention enough?
First the “saintly” Cambridges were wildly promoted. Maybe Charles thought it was time for Camilla PR blasts again.
This article was written 2 1/2 months ago – before the M&H news. Why the sudden urge to whitewash Camilla I wonder?
Poor Charles 😂🤣😂 he never gets credit for anything. There’s never a “Gee, isn’t Prince Charles charming, hardworking and funny” angle. EVER. It’s always how other people have improved him.
Are her kids Parker-Bowles? I mean she was sleeping with Charles throughout the marriage as well.
Wait, wait….. *Charles* is next in line to the throne?????? I’m sorry, I’ve just been following the British press and all their reporting as my source of information so I could have -sworn- Beer and Burgers Bill and Katie Keen were going to King and Queen imminently. Please forgive my confusion.
US Magazine talked about the Queen training Kate to be next. Sometimes William does not even get named.
i read a book called “Diana, In Her Own Words” and it was based on interviews Diana gave in secret while she was planning to ask Charles for a divorce. She said that right before her wedding, she found a bracelet that Charles was sending to Camilla with CC on it and a note that said, “No matter what happens, I’ll always love you.” Camilla was already married. She asked Charles if he was planning to stop seeing Camilla after they got married and he said no. Say what you will, but I do think for Charles, Camilla was always the one.
I remember reading that too!
Stephen Barry, Charles valet, confirmed the Camilla stories–he recalled Charles and Camilla would talk on the phone while Charles was honeymooning with Diana.
I disagree. that Camilla was always “the one.”. First of all he met her in the early seventies, if she were “the one” he would have pursued her as wife material. The Crown’s account is fiction. Charles told his authorized biographer Jonathan Dimbleby he was not ready to marry when he met Camilla and moved on , he did not tell Camilla they had a future. He saw a lot of women and was serious about others besides Diana and Camilla: He was besotted with Davina Sheffield and it seemed he would marry her but an ex came forward and said he had lived with Davina, and the relationship ended: he was serious about Anna Wallace who ditched him but he wanted her back but she refused; he proposed to a distant cousin Amanda Knatchbull and there were others including married Lady Dale Tryon whom he called his best good friend. She was his mistress during the Camilla years. Plus Janet Jenkins. So if he thought Camilla “the one” he would have pursed her as wife material and not been with other women. I think Camilla was the last woman standing and he outed her more or less becoming obliged to her. If he truly loved Camilla he would not have married anyone else but he married Diana. If Camilla was the one for him, he sure had a strange way of showing it.
Charles was expected to marry a virgin or at least a girl with no past, so she had to be young even though he was in his 30’s. I never thought he loved Diana, and from reading Tina Brown’s book I got the impression that she wanted the position and lifestyle and not the man. She knew things were still going on with Camilla during the engagement, but she went ahead. At the time of their wedding, there were stories published describing the conference where
Philip ordered Charles to marry her that summer or not at all.
It really would have been good if Diana wanted the title and not the man. Then she would have happily sent Charles off to be with his mistress and she would have enjoyed all the perks of being a royal. Unfortunately for Diana, she fell in love with Charles. And Diana was not some gold digger, she was from a notable British Family and had royal blood in her own right. She was on the “list” of eligible women for Charles and she was an aristo, had no past, attractive and fertile. Plus he was turned down by others pre his proposal to Diana. I don’t think Tina Brown’s book is the best source. I prefer Sarah Bradford. I think it is forgotten that Charles courted Diana because she was on the list of the most eligible women in the UK. Charles said he did not love Diana to his biographer Dimbleby so it was horrid of him to go into a marriage with a starry eyed teenager. Diana thought that since he proposed he loved her. Diana thought Charles an honorable man and did not “ask for it” when she went through with the wedding. She thought the wedding meant Camilla was history and she told this to her biographer Morton. Philip never Ordered Charles to do anything. All he said was that if Charles was not sure he wanted to marry Diana he should move on. Charles of course to me never accepts responsibility so the spin that it was all Philip’s Fault came directly from Charles’ camp. The stories at the time of the wedding said no such thing. Charles was the one who whinged about being “forced” to marry Diana to his authorized biographer. I have books from that time period and articles and it was all sunshine and roses. Philip did not order Charles to do anything, Charles was a grown man of 32 not a baby. Charles wanted to have it all a wife, children and mistress on the side or mistresses since he was also involved with Janet Jenkins and Dale Tryon.
I agree with your thoughts on Diana, Tessa, and am always so pleased to see your passionate defense of her. I think she did love Charles at the time of the wedding, in a the way of a very young, quite innocent, romantic teenager. And they hadn’t spent much time at all together alone, so the greater and more realistic knowledge of Charles’ character as a man that she would get from familiarity just wasn’t there, and I suppose she filled in the blanks with her imagination. I don’t think status or money really came into it for her, while she was insecure about many things, as a Spencer she was aware of her position. Even in the engagement interview, when she replied ‘of course’ when asked if she loved him, and he said ‘whatever love is’ , the little flush and tiny flash of hurt on her face still saddens me.