King Charles left the London Clinic on Monday and reportedly spent Monday evening in London. I have my doubts as to whether Charles will stay in London (at Clarence House) or whether he’ll move to one of his other castles, palaces or mansions. My guess is that he’ll go to Highgrove soon, if he’s not there already. Curiously, Queen Camilla spent several hours at Windsor Castle today, doing an event with the Royal Collection Trust, having to do with Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House.
Queen Camilla returned to work the day after King Charles was discharged from the hospital after undergoing surgery to treat an enlarged prostate.
On Tuesday afternoon, Queen Camilla, 76, hosted a reception at Windsor Castle for contributors to the new Miniature Library collection displayed beside Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House as it celebrates its centenary year. Queen Camilla welcomed authors, illustrators and binders involved in the Modern-Day Miniature Library project to the royal reception — including her son, Tom Parker Bowles.
The Royal Collection Trust touts the display as the “largest and most famous dolls’ house in the world” and was completed as a gift to King Charles’ great-grandmother Queen Mary, “who loved all things small and decorative,” in 1924. A treasure of the replica of an Edwardian residency — which 1,500 craftspeople worked on — is its library, which includes tiny volumes by some of the era’s leading writers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A.A. Milne and Thomas Hardy.
As the doll house celebrates its 100th year, the Royal Collection Trust revealed that Queen Camilla has championed the Modern-Day Miniature Library initiative. The pitch commissioned 20 leading writers and illustrators to produce new miniature books to complement the existing collection as a representation of contemporary British literature. The hand-bound texts, which are less than two inches high, include short stories, poetry, plays and more, some inspired by the Dolls’ House or created originally for the anniversary. Queen Camilla’s son Tom, a food writer, fittingly penned “A Recipe Fit for a Queen.”
Okay, full disclosure: I think dollhouses are cool and I would love nothing more than to spend several hours looking at everything in this dollhouse. I don’t even hate the idea of a “modern-day miniature library,” although I do have to ask: who is this for? Is this a real exhibition which is open to the public? Can you buy tickets and will the ticket sales just be folded into the royal coffers? It’s also endlessly amusing to me that Camilla’s big cause these days is just “books.” Given that the heir is not intellectually curious or a “reader”, Camilla and Charles will be the last “readers” for a while.
It’s also funny to me that Camilla is probably the only working royal for the next month or longer, yet she keeps drawing attention to the Wales weirdness. Of course she had an event at Windsor Castle, with Adelaide Cottage just a stone’s throw away. Maybe Camilla will even check in on Kate. Maybe Camilla will even call up one of her press allies and tell them what’s really going on.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Windsor, UK, 30 January 2024: Britain’s Queen Camilla hosts a reception at Windsor Castle for authors, illustrators and binders who have been involved in the new Miniature Library collection displayed alongside Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House for visitors to enjoy throughout 2024 in celebration of its centenary year.,Image: 841855338, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WPA POOL AFP AP GETTY PA REUTERS NMA IPA CPNA IN, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Avalon
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- Windsor, UK, 30 January 2024: Britain’s Queen Camilla hosts a reception at Windsor Castle for authors, illustrators and binders who have been involved in the new Miniature Library collection displayed alongside Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House for visitors to enjoy throughout 2024 in celebration of its centenary year.,Image: 841855375, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WPA POOL AFP AP GETTY PA REUTERS NMA IPA CPNA IN, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Avalon
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- Windsor, UK, 30 January 2024: Britain’s Queen Camilla looks at miniature books as she hosts a reception at Windsor Castle for authors, illustrators and binders who have been involved in the new Miniature Library collection displayed alongside Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House for visitors to enjoy throughout 2024 in celebration of its centenary year.,Image: 841857553, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WPA POOL AFP AP GETTY PA REUTERS NMA IPA CPNA IN, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Avalon
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- Britain’s Queen Camilla receives a miniature book from Glenn Bartley, head of the Royal Bindery during a reception at Windsor Castle for authors, illustrators and binders who have been involved in the new Miniature Library collection displayed alongside Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House for visitors to enjoy throughout 2024 in celebration of its centenary year in Windsor, England, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024,Image: 841863008, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WPA POOL AFP AP GETTY PA REUTERS NMA IPA CPNA IN, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Avalon
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- Britain’s Queen Camilla speaks to guests during a reception at Windsor Castle for authors, illustrators and binders who have been involved in the new Miniature Library collection displayed alongside Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House for visitors to enjoy throughout 2024 in celebration of its centenary year in Windsor, England, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024,Image: 841868189, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Avalon
Anyone can pay and see the Dolls House, it is cool. But I have no idea where the money goes.
You can read more about the Dolls House here.
https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/Trails/queen-marys-dolls-house
I bought a book of the Queen Mary’s dollhouse, authored by Mary Stewart Wilson. Very interesting. I love dollhouse and would not mind seeing this one in an exhibition.
I need this book. I love dollhouses 🤓
All the press are just ignoring the blatant nepotism happening here. Wtf!!!!
What I want to know is, did Tom Parker Bowles get paid for this??
And yes, I would love to see this dollhouse in person!
I have seen this dollhouse on a tour of Windsor Castle- it is open to the public! IIRC the dollhouse also has working electricity and plumbing.
Do the tiny classics come equipped with miniature reading glasses? 🤔
That is so cool. I have always been fascinated with dollhouses and miniatures. I have always wanted to build a dollhouse with electricity, but that does take up a lot of space. I have been recently interested in those book nooks–miniatures that are a little larger than a book that can sit in one’s bookcase.
Yup, its part of the main Windsor tour, before you go into the reception rooms etc.
Because its part of that, I think the money goes to the RCT, which goes towards maintaining the official royal residences – Holyroodhouse, Buckingham, and Windsor. I just looked at it also includes Frogmore House and Clarence House. This is different from HRP, the Historical Royal Palaces, which includes Tower of London, Hampton Court etc.
Wow look at her out right after her husband comes home from the hospital. Is she trolling Peg again? I bet it’s both trolling and this was on her calendar but hey two birds one stone.
THIS
Yes and yes, they are very much on top of the messaging/trolling.
There was a coffee table book about this doll house at my local library when I was a kid. I checked the book out so many times to marvel at all of the intricacies, but it is sad that no actual children seemingly ever played with it. I would love it if someone could sneak a miniature copy of Spare into a shelf in the dollhouse!
Oh that would be hilarious.
Ha!
😂 I love this idea so very much!
That has GOT to happen! Somebody, please, make this happen! 📖
The Queen Mary’s Dollhouse is one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. The miniature cars have gas engines. There’s working plumbing and electricity. All the fabrics, tapestries, rugs, etc., were specially woven. The library has miniature sheet music by composers of the time. I’ve taken special trips to Windsor just to see the dollhouse…maybe I’m a little obsessed…
I couldn’t agree more! I spent a very enjoyable afternoon years ago gazing at the wonders of the dollhouse. I have the book and my granddaughters are fascinated with it. I hope to someday take them to see it.
A visit to see this dollhouse is on my bucket list, too. It’s a wonder.
The dollhouse was the absolute highlight of my trip to England when I was 8 – it is absolutely remarkable. The plumbing and electricity do work, the library books are readable, there’s even tiny bottles with actual wine in them in the wine cellar.
Shannon Dougherty link above is good news to see.
Thanks for connecting that.
She has been thru hell with her health.
I never watched 90210 but seeing those photos of her, Luke Perry, etc. how young and beautiful they all look.
^ ???🤷♀️
Is there any reason why William couldn’t have done this engagement with Camilla if he’s just a few minutes away with Kate at Adelaide????
“If” he’s just a few minutes away, which I doubt. Good thing Camilla has Tom Parker Bowles waiting in the wings.
I still can’t get used to her being the queen. Whenever I see “the queen” I think, who?
I will never get used to it.
Same, I fckin love dollhouses and actually work on them 🤣 my grandpa built me a beautiful one when I was seven, fully furnished but no dolls, so I let my hamsters loose in it 😬
Does anyone remember American Girl magazine? They had an issue once with a huge article about a beautiful dollhouse castle. I can’t remember if it was the same dollhouse or not as it’s been about 30 years. But I was obsessed.
Maybe the Astolat Dollhouse Castle? It was finished in 1987 and is the most valuable dollhouse in the world.
Not Cams ushering the media onto Windsor grounds. I can’t.
It’s pretty funny/telling that the 76 year old or however old she is married in sidepiece is the one showing how it should be done. Hee husband had surgery, now he’s back home and she just goes back to work, which is what Wills should have done. All they had to tell him to say to any questions about Kate is something along the lines of “she’s doing well, thank you, or I’ll pass along your well wishes, or we’re really looking forward to having her back home” or any other bog standard human interaction. The fact that he can’t even do that is really fucking weird.
I can understand someone wanting privacy for medical stuff, but him not even being able to be seen visiting her more than once, or even doing his own damn job while she’s in the hospital (which most people have to do) is really something. In a few years this will be a class for PR flacks as an example of what not to do.
Meh. Ok, Camilla was a mistress. She’s also an aristocrat. Hosting people, fundraising, charity soirées, etc. are all in her wheelhouse. She’s actually very suited to the role. It’s not surprising that she’s good at it.
Camilla was not an aristo
She was of the gentry and was in royal circles.
Wasn’t Camilla’s mother an aristocrat??? That put Camilla in the aristo world but not born titled.
Her father was a heroic w w 2 veteran but not an aristo. The family was of the gentry comfortably off
I think ‘taking care of Kate’ is just a convenient cover story. The Wales’s have been put on extended leave by the King. Whatever it is that has happened to Kate it seems to have provided an opportunity for Charles to take control.
Over the next few weeks we may see more reports of engagements undertaken by Camilla, Anne, Edward, Sophie and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
I doubt William put up much of a fuss about being sidelined
This Wicked Vampire does one good thing in her life, shows a doll house. She is the ultimate evil champion chess player. Either Kate is really very sick.. (because no one has seen Kate since Dec & it’s almost February) and Camilla is happy about it ( yes she’s that evil) or this was a ploy by Will & Kate for whatever reason and Camilla is ruining their cover. Either way she’s trolling them making them both look inept and the heir look extremely lazy. Camilla is back to work, because she couldn’t care less about Charles. She doesn’t do anything for anyone except herself and this makes her look good, so did visiting Charles in the hospital. She did it for herself, not for him. I am definitely not a William & Kate fan. I can never forgive them for what they did to the Sussex’s, but Camilla is evil incarnate. She tortured Diana and the boys when they were young, did everything she could to make Meghan depressed & unhappy, threw Harry out of his own house and room as a young man and turned it into her closet. I’m sure she was the one who suggested that his grandmother’s gift of Frogmore be taken away. She tortured Diana, tortured Meghan & now she’s probably doing the same to Kate. I don’t trust her or her showing of the dollhouse, especially at this particular time it is extremely suspicious!
I totally agree.
I got to see this too, it’s incredible. It’s part of the regular tour of Windsor Castle.
I have always loved dollhouses and miniatures, and ended up becoming an architect!
The Art Institute of Chicago has an amazing collection too.
Yes, I was just going to mention the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute – really amazing!
Actress colleen Moore from the silent era donated her doll house to the art institute of Chicago for exhibit
Correction colleen Moore’s doll house is exhibited at the museum of science and industry in chicago.it is called the fairy castle and moore commissioned it. During the great depression it was a traveling exhibit to raise funds for children’s charities.
Lovely dress but Camilla seems stuck on that shade of blue.
Her son Tom seems to be on track to receiving a title from Charles. Can’t say I’m happy about that.
Agree. I said last week that if I was Camilla, I would be seizing every opportunity to put her kids (and grandkids) front and center during Charles’ absence from public appearances and it looks like she’s doing exactly that. Not only did she take Tom’s watch to be repaired and turned it into a royal engagement (that one is a real head-scratcher), but Tom’s also got a new column in the Daily Mail and now this mention?
Tom’s about as good a food writer as Pippa Middleton was with her Waitrose column. His screeds in Country Life magazine only serve to demonstrate how stating the obvious about food (It’s the season for potatoes! My, aren’t they yummy!) and the right connections can get you anywhere…as a foodie I’m offended lol
Quality of the column aside, it’s not new. And he’s been a food critic overall for more than 20 years.
I may be wrong, but I don’t remember seeing TPB’ DM columns before Camilla became Queen… and we agree that longevity does not equal quality. Man knows nothing about food, that was precisely my point…
His sister Laura will probably get a title or her husband will so Laura her husband and children can all have titles.
Laura’s husband is related to the Astors and is himself in line for a title already. Very well connected.
Dear Camilla,
Dollhouses are something that children like to play with. Prince Andrew is someone who likes to play with children. The FBI would like to have a word with him about that.
Sincerely,
Literally Everyone
Thank you
To have a miniature copy of Spare, that would be a brilliant idea and tempting. I read somewhere back, that the queen gave the dollhouse to Beatrice and Eugenie.
*slow clap* I have got to hand it to Camilla. I don’t like what I know of her but she’s honestly been masterful at showing up the Wales during this whole thing. Was it planned? I’m cynical enough to believe it was but even if not, what a showing.
IDK, I still maintain that Camilla (and Charles) are being suspiciously, carefully normal. Playing this totally straight, just going about their business in a way that meets general approval (a tell in itself, when do they ever do that, lol), and if the media happens to compare their own, totally completely 100% innocent behavior to that of other royals, well that’s not their fault now is it?
To me, this absolutely reeks of Camilla and Charles and BP taking some advice from Napoleon and not interrupting the enemy when they’re in the process of destroying themselves. I think this entire situation with Kate is a disaster waiting to erupt, and Camilla and Charles are trying to not be too obvious about making their way clear of the blast zone so they’re not implicated in the unfolding scandal.
ITA. With all the histrionics that have come out the palace in the past several years, it shows incredible restraint that C&C can just go about their business without some ridiculous flare-up over H&M and who insulted whom. Camilla is a stealth predator and is controlling Charles nicely. I’m kind of in awe.
Ironically queen Mary would not receive Wallis duchess of Windsor after she married the duke of Windsor. I doubt Camilla would have been popular with her either. Camilla and Wallis were both married mistresses to princes of wales.
Best display of doll houses EVER at the Rochester (NY) Strong National Museum of Play.
Wait until May to visit if you want to avoid snow!