“God, I hate this,” he said, clearly frustrated. “I can’t stand this bloody… every stink!” Before noticing the ink on his fingers, Charles had handed the pen to Camilla, who calmly wiped her hands, picked up a new pen, signed her name, and completed the task. Camilla’s 50-year relationship with Charles was messy, but after years of being vilified as the ‘other woman’, she appears to be easing into the British public’s affection. Many see her as the no-fuss royal, with neither temperament nor elitist air, the steady calm at Charles’ side. On tour in the UK, a question for Charles: Can he be the king of hearts? A YouGov poll shows 53 percent of Britons approve of Camilla and say she will do a good job as queen consort, compared with 33 percent five years ago. Its highest scores come from women over 50. “It’s a wonderful transformation,” said William Shawcross, a royal biographer who has known Camilla since they were children and who attended her wedding to Charles. “She found it much easier than one might expect to adjust to the stresses and strains of royal life,” he said. “He absolutely needs her.” Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of Mumsnet, the UK’s largest online parenting forum, said there had been a “radical shift” in perceptions of Camilla. “She suffered at first because she was the ‘other woman,’ but it’s pretty obvious that they’re pretty committed to each other and it’s a genuine romance,” Roberts said. Roberts said Camilla’s work on many causes, including violence against women and girls, helped raise her profile. “He feels like he’s a really caring person,” she said. In the non-stop media coverage since Queen Elizabeth II died last week, Camilla has been almost constantly in the spotlight. She seems to have little interest in being the center of attention herself, preferring to just stand off to the side. Camilla and Charles have lived in the interconnected world of the British upper crust for their entire lives. They met at a polo match in 1970 and started dating. When Charles left to serve in the Navy in 1972 without asking for any commitment from Camilla, he didn’t wait. The following year, she married Andrew Parker Bowles, an aristocrat seven years her senior, who had attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and played polo with Charles when they were young. What kind of monarch will King Charles III be? Different from his mom. Charles remained friendly with the couple, who had two children together, Tom and Laura. Charles became Tom’s godfather (and is now his stepfather too). Charles married Diana in 1981, with Camilla and her husband attending as guests. As both marriages began to crumble, Charles and Camilla began an affair. Queen Elizabeth II was not happy. Sally Bedell Smith, in a biography of the Queen, reported that after several martinis, she referred to Camilla as “that wicked woman”. Princess Diana went on TV in 1995 – a year before her divorce from Charles – and complained about the “three of us” in her marriage. British media reported that Camilla was even hit with buns in a supermarket. “He had a horrible time,” Shawcross said. “It was horrible.” BBC journalist used ‘fraudulent behaviour’ to secure Princess Diana interview in 1995, inquest finds Of course, not everyone in Britain is a fan of the monarchy, and even some who like royalty still aren’t fans of Camilla. “If Diana had lived, she would be the Queen of England today. It’s hard not to think that. Does this mean I like Charles and Camilla less? Maybe so,” said William Snyder, 60, a cashier at a grocery store in London. For a quarter of a century, there has been a concerted effort to improve Camilla’s image. After Diana died in a car crash in 1997, Camilla largely disappeared from public view. Two years later, Charles consulted a PR expert, Mark Boland, who devised a media campaign to help the British see Charles and Camilla as a couple. In what he called “Operation Ritz”, Bolland made sure all the media in the country knew that Charles and Camilla would be making their first public appearance together at her sister’s 50th birthday party at London’s Ritz Hotel. The photos taken that night dominated newspapers, magazines and television broadcasts. It would take time to win the queen over, but the two women shared a love of horses and often went to the races together. All the Queen’s horses: From her first pony to Macron’s jubilee gift Shawcross said Camilla “got on really well with Prince Philip. Many people were afraid or in awe of him. Not her.” She held her own with Charles’ father. Camilla began to be described as a partner rather than a lover. She moved in with Charles in 2003. and finally, 35 years after they met, they married in 2005. At the time, polls showed that just 7 percent of Britons thought she should ever become queen. Five months later, Prince Harry defended Camilla on his 21st birthday, telling the British press that she was “not the evil stepmother”. “Everybody needs to understand that it’s very difficult for her,” he said. “Look at the post coming up. Don’t always feel sorry for me and William, feel sorry for her. … We are very grateful to her. It made our father very happy.” Camilla’s mischievous sense of humor went viral in 2019, during a visit by then-President Donald Trump to London. After Charles and Camilla posed with Donald and Melania Trump for a photo at Clarence House, Charles began leading the Americans to another room for tea. Camila turned in the opposite direction and winked at the members of the press. Camila winked behind Trump’s back. What was he telling us? It was a sly gesture that was widely interpreted, in a country where Trump was as popular as an empty glass, as the perceptive Duchess said: “Can you believe that?” Now, as they take on their new roles – King Charles III, 73, and Camilla, Queen Consort, 75 – audiences find them as familiar as the furniture. Many people also find their complicated family relatable. They are the first king and queen consort to have previously divorced and are the first to have stepchildren. Camilla’s children are much more low-key than Charles’ celebrity sons Princes William and Harry. Tom Parker Bowles is a food critic and Laura Lopes is an art curator. Why the crown won’t go to Prince William. Even if some people want it. In a recent interview with British Vogue to celebrate her 75th birthday in July, Camilla said she avoids wearing what she describes as “menopause purple”. She said she plays Wordle every day on her iPad and compares scores with her granddaughter. The public also got to know her and her goofy laugh through her social media presence, including Instagram videos showing her applauding coronavirus first responders or cooing with rescue dogs to his syrupy 1972 hit “Puppy Love.” Donny Osmond. This week, she’s been celebrated in TikTok videos for going from Charles’ “buddy chick” to his queen consort. “I really like it,” said Jodie Barrett, 22, the receptionist at a hair salon in London’s Chelsea district. Asked why, she said Camilla wasn’t as memorable as Diana, but she found nothing to dislike. Roberts said there had been a lot of discussion about Camilla on the Mumsnet online forum, most of which had been favourable. “It’s definitely won over what was initially a very skeptical crowd,” he said. “People think it would be great fun to go for a drink with her – unlike him.”
