THE Queen’s moving statement marks the culmination of the extraordinary relationship between Charles and Camilla.
After years of public ridicule, and with the ghost of Diana forever on their shoulders, the royal couple have finally been handed the ultimate seal of approval by the Queen herself.
It’s a remarkable rehabilitation for the woman who a large proportion of the public blamed for the end of a royal fairytale. Far from being “the other woman”, Camilla has cemented her place at the heart of the Royal Family.
The Queen said it is her sincere wish that when “in the fullness of time” Charles becomes King, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort. “I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me,” she says, “as she (Camilla) continues her own loyal service”.
That is praise indeed from the 95-year-old monarch and confir-mation of a friendship between the two women that the world knows very little about.
Camilla was once in the inner circle of royalty as her former husband Andrew Parker Bowles’ father, Derek, was great friends with the Queen Mother. They frequently stayed at Birkhall, the-then Queen Mother’s Scottish retreat, where Camilla was treated by the royal matriarch as “one of us”.
Camilla could never have imagined, as she lunched in the cosy dining room, that one day it would be her Scottish home, too. When she married Charles in 2005, she thought she would merely lend support to the man she loved.
He desperately needed the support he failed to get from Diana.
He was unpopular. He was downhearted about his role and he wondered how he was ever going to be able to change things for the better.
He was exhausted by the dramas of his separation and divorce.
He was also burdened with guilt that somehow Diana’s death was his fault and, if he had managed to make the marriage work, she would still be alive.
Camilla convinced him to look forward. She made him laugh.
She got along very well with Prince Philip whom she had known for many years. More importantly she got along with the Queen. Unusually, the Queen made an informal speech at the wedding reception of Charles and Camilla at Windsor Castle. She compared their then-34-year relationship to the terrain of the Grand National, which was taking place on the same day.
She 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.”
The Queen recognised straight away that they would make an excellent match but for years her regal hands were tied.
The Queen and Philip knew Camilla was unpopular with the British people and those of her beloved Commonwealth.
They would always compare her to the young beautiful Diana whose face was shrined in an almost holy image. Giving food to the starving. Holding the hand of a leper. Clasping the hand of a young man with Aids. Representing the poor, the displaced, the unwanted.
That was a role Camilla could never replicate. And would never try. The Queen cautioned patience. Time, she said, was the key to Camilla’s acceptance. Then people could see beyond her role as the woman who ruined the marriage of the Princess of Wales and see her for what the Queen knew she was.
A woman who can handle any situation with sensitivity. She also has the remarkable and valuable ability to see the amusing side of life, however difficult it might be.
Camilla had no desire to be popular or famous. The Queen was probably one of the few, apart from her son and Philip, who recognised her huge potential.
She felt she was treated very badly and referred to her as a “much-maligned woman” but she knew the marriage would eventually take place. It had to. “What happens if I fall off my horse,” the Queen would say. “What a pickle we would be in then. This needs to be sorted.”
Camilla’s father Major Bruce Shand, who died in 2006, agreed and enjoyed teasing his daughter about becoming Queen one day. “Here comes ‘La Reine’,” he would say when she came into the room — much to her embarrassment.
But there was speculation Camilla would never be Queen — and it was mooted she would instead become Princess Consort on her husband’s ascension to the throne.
The Queen knew that would never work. The wife of a King is a Queen. As her own mother, then the Duchess of York, became Queen when her father became King George VI.
The last Queen Consort was Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, to give her full title.
She recalled the moment the holy oil was dripped onto her head at her husband’s Coronation.
She felt it was a sign from God she always had to do her duty. And she did.
But when it came to Camilla, the Queen was patient.
During the past ten years the public have warmed to Camilla because of her stoic dedication.
She quietly went about her tasks asking for no plaudits and expecting less. It was exactly what the Queen told her would happen.
When Philip was alive Camilla took time to be with him. They enjoyed reading and would discuss books and authors endlessly.
Charles’ view of the slimmed-down monarchy he is determined to have is taking shape.
Last week, the Duchess of Cambridge joined her father and stepmother at the Prince’s Foundation in London’s Docklands.
One day this will certainly be William’s responsibility and it is important to Charles that his daughter-in-law has first-hand knowledge on all his projects, too.
They are a unit. They have to be, as there are so many problems outside the tight circle of the immediate royal family.
William has become much closer to his stepmother. She knows how important his input is to his father and, in turn, he is appreciative he is always consulted on important matters.
The intimate tone of the Queen’s address, delivered on the day his grandfather King George VI died 70 years ago, is hugely significant for Charles.
It is the ultimate royal stamp of approval he has always craved and “in the fullness of time when he becomes King” it is something he will always cherish.
- lngrid Seward is editor in chief of Majesty magazine and the author of Prince Philip Revealed.
