Queen Camilla

Early life and education

Camilla Rosemary Shand was born on 17 July 1947 at King's College Hospital, London, the eldest of three children of Major Bruce Shand, a British Army officer turned businessman, and his wife Rosalind (née Cubitt), daughter of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe. She was baptised on 1 November at St. Peter's Church, Firle, East Sussex. Camilla has a younger sister, Annabel Elliot, and had a younger brother, Mark Shand. The family divided their time between their 18th-century country house – The Laines in Plumpton, East Sussex – and their London house in South Kensington. One of her maternal great-grandmothers, Alice Keppel, was a mistress of King Edward VII.

Rosalind was a charity worker who during the 1960s and 1970s volunteered at the Chailey Heritage Foundation (which helps young children with disabilities) near their Sussex home. Bruce had various business interests after retiring from the army. He was most notably a partner in Block, Grey and Block, a firm of wine merchants in South Audley Street, Mayfair, later joining Ellis, Son and Vidler of Hastings and London.

During her childhood, Shand became an avid reader through the influence of her father, who read to her frequently. She grew up with dogs and cats, and, at a young age, learnt how to ride by joining Pony Club camps, going on to win rosettes at community gymkhanas. According to her, childhood "was perfect in every way". Biographer Gyles Brandreth describes her background and childhood:Camilla is often described as having had an "Enid Blyton sort of childhood". In fact, it was much grander than that. Camilla, as a little girl, may have had some personality traits of George, the tomboy girl among the Famous Five, but Enid Blyton's children were essentially middle-class children and the Shands, without question, belonged to the upper class. The Shands had position and they had help – help in the house, help in the garden, help with children. They were gentry. They opened their garden for the local Conservative Party Association summer fête. Enough said.

When she was five, Shand was sent to Dumbrells, a co-educational school in Ditchling village. From the age of 10, she attended Queen's Gate School near her London home. Her classmates at Queen's Gate knew her as "Milla"; her fellow pupils included the singer Twinkle (Lynn Ripley), who described her as a girl of "inner strength" exuding "magnetism and confidence". One of the teachers at the school, the writer Penelope Fitzgerald, who taught French, remembered Shand as "bright and lively". Shand left Queen's Gate with one O-level in 1964; her parents did not make her stay long enough for A-levels. Aged 16, she attended the Mont Fertile finishing school in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. After completing her course there, she studied French and French literature at the British Institute in Paris for six months.

Personal life

First marriage

In the late 1960s, Shand met Andrew Parker Bowles, then a Guards officer – a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals – through his younger brother, Simon, who worked for her father's wine firm in Mayfair. After an on-and-off relationship for years, Parker Bowles and Shand's engagement was announced in The Times in 1973. Sally Bedell Smith wrote that the announcement was sent out by the pair's parents without their knowledge, which forced Parker Bowles to propose. They married on 4 July 1973 in a Catholic ceremony at the Guards' Chapel, Wellington Barracks, in London. Shand was 25 years old and Parker Bowles 33. Her wedding dress was designed by British fashion house Bellville Sassoon, and the bridesmaids included Parker Bowles's goddaughter Lady Emma Herbert. It was considered the "society wedding of the year" with 800 guests. Royal guests present at the ceremony and reception included Queen Elizabeth II's daughter, Anne; the Queen's sister, Margaret; and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

The couple made their home in Wiltshire, purchasing Bolehyde Manor in Allington and later Middlewick House in Corsham. They had two children: Tom (born 1974) and Laura (born 1978). Tom is a godson of King Charles III. Both children were brought up in their father's Catholic faith, particularly during the lifetime of their paternal grandmother, Ann Parker Bowles; Camilla remained an Anglican and did not convert to Catholicism. Laura attended a Catholic girls' school, but married in an Anglican church; Tom did not attend Ampleforth College as his father had, but Eton – and was married outside the Catholic Church. Tom, like his father, is in remainder to the Earldom of Macclesfield.

In December 1994, after 21 years of marriage, the couple issued divorce proceedings on the grounds they had been living separately for years. In July of that year, Camilla's mother, Rosalind, had died from osteoporosis, and her father later described this as a "difficult time for her". Their petition was heard and granted in January 1995 at the High Court Family Division in London. The divorce was finalised on 3 March 1995. A year later, Andrew married Rosemary Pitman (who died in 2010).

Relationship with Charles

Shand reportedly met Prince Charles in mid-1971. Parker Bowles had ended his relationship with her in 1970 and was courting Princess Anne. Though Shand and Charles belonged to the same social circle and occasionally attended the same events, they had not formally met. Brandreth states that they did not first meet at a polo match, as has been commonly believed. Instead, they first met at the home of their friend Lucía Santa Cruz, who formally introduced them. They became close friends and eventually began a romantic relationship, which was well known within their social circle. As a couple, they regularly met at polo matches at Smith's Lawn in Windsor Great Park, where Charles often played polo. They also became part of a set at Annabel's in Berkeley Square. As the relationship grew more serious, Charles met Shand's family in Plumpton, and he introduced her to some members of his family. The relationship was put on hold after Charles travelled overseas whilst he was in the Royal Navy in early 1973, and ended abruptly afterward.

There have been different explanations for why the relationship ended. Robert Lacey wrote in his 2008 book Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II that Charles met Shand too early, and he had not asked her to wait for him when he went overseas for military duties. Sarah Bradford wrote in her 2007 book Diana that a member of the close circle of his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten said Mountbatten arranged for Charles to be taken overseas to end the relationship with Shand, to make way for an engagement between Charles and his granddaughter Amanda Knatchbull. Some sources suggest the Queen Mother did not approve of Shand because she wanted Charles to marry one of the Spencer family granddaughters of her close friend Lady Fermoy. Other sources suggest Shand did not want to marry Charles but instead Parker Bowles, having had an on-and-off relationship with him since the late 1960s – or that Charles had decided he would not marry until he was 30.

The majority of royal biographers agree that Charles would not have been allowed to marry Shand had he sought permission to do so. According to Charles's cousin and godmother Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, some palace courtiers at that time deemed Shand unsuitable as a prospective consort. In 2005, she stated, "With hindsight, you can say that Charles should have married Camilla when he first had the chance. They were ideally suited, we know that now. But it wasn't possible." "It wouldn't have been possible, not then." Nevertheless, they remained friends. In August 1979, Lord Mountbatten was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Charles was grief-stricken by his death and reportedly relied heavily on Camilla for solace. During this period, rumours began circulating among close friends of the Parker Bowleses and in polo-playing communities that Camilla and Charles had rekindled their intimate relationship. A source close to Parker Bowles confirmed that by 1980 they had indeed rekindled as lovers. Royal staff have also said that it occurred earlier. Camilla's husband reportedly approved of the affair, while he had numerous lovers throughout their marriage. According to the BBC, Camilla was the official escort to the Prince during the Zimbabwean independence celebrations in 1980. Nevertheless, Charles soon began a relationship with Lady Diana Spencer, whom he married in 1981.

Second marriage

On 10 February 2005, Clarence House publicised the engagement of Camilla and Charles. As an engagement ring, he gave her a diamond ring believed to have been given to his grandmother when she gave birth to Charles's mother. The ring comprised a square-cut diamond with three diamond baguettes on each side. As the future supreme governor of the Church of England, the prospect of Charles marrying a divorcée was seen as controversial, but with the consent of the Queen, the government, and the Church of England, the couple were able to wed. The Queen and Tony Blair, along with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, offered their best wishes in statements to the media. In the two months following the announcement of their engagement, Clarence House received 25,000 letters with "95 or 99 per cent being supportive"; 908 hate mail letters were also received, with the more threatening and personal ones sent to the police for investigation.

The marriage was to have been on 8 April 2005, in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, with a subsequent religious service of blessing at St George's Chapel. However, to conduct a civil marriage at Windsor Castle would oblige the venue to obtain a licence for civil marriages, which it did not have. A condition of such a licence is that the licensed venue must be available for a period of one year to anyone wishing to be married there, and as the royal family did not wish to make Windsor Castle available to the public for civil marriages, the venue was changed to the town hall at Windsor Guildhall. On 4 April, the marriage was delayed by one day to allow Charles and some of the invited dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

On 9 April 2005, the marriage ceremony was held. The parents of Charles and Camilla did not attend; instead, Camilla's son Tom and Charles's son Prince William acted as witnesses to the union. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh did attend the service of blessing. Afterwards, the Queen held a reception for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle. Performers included the St George's Chapel Choir, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott. As a wedding gift, The Marinsky Theatre Trust in St. Petersburg brought a Belarusian mezzo-soprano singer, Ekaterina Semenchuk, to the United Kingdom to perform a special song for the couple. Following the wedding, the couple travelled to Charles's country home in Scotland, Birkhall, and carried out their first public duties together during their honeymoon.

Duchess of Cornwall

After becoming Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla automatically acquired rank as the second highest woman in the British order of precedence after Queen Elizabeth II, and as typically fifth or sixth in the orders of precedence of her other realms, following the Queen, the relevant viceroy, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales. It was revealed that the Queen altered the royal order of precedence "on blood principles" for private occasions, placing the Duchess fourth, after the Queen, Princess Anne and Princess Alexandra. Within two years of the marriage, the Queen extended Camilla visible tokens of membership in the royal family: she lent Camilla the Greville Tiara, which previously belonged to the Queen Mother, and granted her the badge of the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II.

After their wedding, Clarence House, Charles's official residence, also became Camilla's. The couple also stay at Birkhall for holiday events, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire for family gatherings. In 2008, they took up residence at Llwynywermod, Wales, where they stayed on their visit to Wales every year in the summer and for other occasions. To spend time alone with her children and grandchildren, Camilla still maintains Ray Mill House, in which she resided from 1995 to 2003.

According to an undated statement from Clarence House, Camilla used to be a smoker but has not smoked for many years. Though no details were publicly released, it was confirmed in March 2007 that she had undergone a hysterectomy. In April 2010, she fractured her left leg while hill walking in Scotland. In November 2010, Camilla and Charles were indirectly involved in student protests when their car was attacked by protesters. Clarence House later released a statement on the incident: "A car carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall was attacked by protesters, but the couple were unharmed." In 2011, they were named as individuals whose confidential information was reportedly targeted or actually acquired in conjunction with the news media phone hacking scandal.

On 9 April 2012, Camilla and Charles's seventh wedding anniversary, the Queen appointed Camilla to the Royal Victorian Order. In 2015, Charles commissioned a pub to be named after Camilla, situated at Poundbury village. The pub opened in 2016 and is named the Duchess of Cornwall Inn. On 9 June 2016, the Queen appointed the Duchess as a member of the British Privy Council. On 1 January 2022, she made Camilla a Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. On 14 February 2022, Camilla tested positive for COVID-19, four days after Charles had also contracted it, and began self-isolating. She and Charles received their first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in February 2021. She completed 3,886 engagements between 2005 and 2022.

Foreign and domestic trips

Camilla's first solo engagement as Duchess of Cornwall was a visit to Southampton General Hospital; she attended the Trooping the Colour for the first time in June 2005, making her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards. She made her inaugural overseas tour in November 2005, when she visited the United States, and met George W. and Laura Bush at the White House. Afterward, Camilla and Charles visited New Orleans to see the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and met some of the residents whose lives were affected by the hurricane. In March 2006, the couple visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India. In 2007, Camilla conducted the naming ceremonies for HMS Astute and the new Cunard cruise ship, MS Queen Victoria. In November 2007, she toured with the Prince of Wales on a four-day visit to Turkey. In 2008, she and Charles toured the Caribbean, Japan, Brunei and Indonesia. In 2009, they toured Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy and Germany. Their visit to the Holy See in Italy included a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. They later visited Canada. In early 2010, they visited Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. Camilla was unable to carry out her engagements on their tour of Eastern Europe after developing a trapped nerve in her back. In October 2010, she accompanied Charles to Delhi, India, for the opening of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

In March 2011, Camilla and Charles visited Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, visiting the heads of state of each country. In June 2011, the Duchess alone represented the British royal family at the 125th Wimbledon Tennis Championships. In August 2011, she accompanied Charles to Tottenham to visit the aftermath of the London riots. The couple later went to visit with Tottenham residents in February 2012, meeting with local shop owners six months after the riots to see how they were doing. In London on 11 September 2011, the Duchess attended the 10th anniversary memorial service of the 9/11 attacks, along with David Cameron and the Prince of Wales. In November 2011, Camilla travelled with Charles to tour the Commonwealth and Arab States of the Persian Gulf. They toured South Africa and Tanzania and met with those countries' respective presidents, Jacob Zuma and Jakaya Kikwete.

In March 2012, the couple visited Norway, Sweden and Denmark to mark Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. In May 2012, they undertook a four-day trip to Canada as part of the jubilee celebrations. In November 2012, they visited Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea for a two-week jubilee tour. During the Australian tour, they attended the 2012 Melbourne Cup, where Camilla presented the Melbourne cup to the winner of the race. In 2013, the couple went on a tour to Jordan, meeting with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. They visited Syrian refugee camps of the civil war. Camilla attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in May 2013, and the same month, she travelled to Paris on her first solo trip outside the United Kingdom. That same year, she and Charles attended the inauguration of Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, as well as the preceding celebrations in honour of the departing Queen Beatrix.

Queen consort

Camilla became queen consort on 8 September 2022 upon her husband's accession as Charles III, following the death of Elizabeth II. In his first address to the nation, Charles paid tribute to his "darling wife" Camilla for "the loving help and steadfast devotion to duty". On 10 September, she attended the Accession Council where Charles was formally proclaimed king and she served as a witness together with her stepson William.

Following the accession, Queen Camilla announced that she was replacing the traditional role of lady-in-waiting with a new role of queen's companion, which would be a more occasional and less formal role, assisting her at official engagements but not in replying to letters or day-to-day planning. She appointed the Marchioness of Lansdowne, the Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen, Jane von Westenholz, Lady Sarah Keswick, Lady Brooke, and Sarah Troughton to the role.

On 13 February 2023, Buckingham Palace announced that Camilla had tested positive for COVID-19, which forced her to postpone a number of public engagements.

Camilla was crowned alongside Charles on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey, London. On 16 June, Buckingham Palace announced that the King had appointed the Queen to the Order of the Thistle. On 5 July, she accompanied Charles to a national service of thanksgiving at St Giles' Cathedral where the Honours of Scotland were presented to him. In the same month, it was announced that unlike the previous consort, Prince Philip, Queen Camilla would not receive a Parliamentary annuity and her activities would be funded through the Sovereign Grant instead.

In March 2023, the Queen accompanied the King for a state visit to Germany, which was his first foreign visit as monarch. In September and October, they undertook state visits to France and Kenya, and in November, Camilla joined Charles at his first State Opening of Parliament as Sovereign.

Due to the King's cancer diagnosis in 2024, the Queen deputised for him in his absence at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey and at the Royal Maundy at Worcester Cathedral, making her the first consort to hand out the ceremonial coins at the latter event. In June, they travelled to Normandy to attend the 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day. In October, the King and Queen toured Australia and Samoa. In the following month she cancelled several of her public engagements due to a chest infection that was later revealed to be a form of pneumonia.

Charity work

Patronages

The Queen is the patron or president of more than 100 charities and organisations.

She is the honorary commodore-in-chief of the Royal Navy Medical Service. In this role, she visited the training-ship HMS Excellent in January 2012, to award medals to naval medical teams returning from service in Afghanistan. She is also an honorary member of other patronages and in February 2012, she was elected a bencher of Gray's Inn. In February 2013, she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, a role which is ceremonial and involves conferring graduates with their degrees. She took up the office in June 2013. She is the first female chancellor of the University of Aberdeen and the only member of the royal family to hold the post since it was created in 1860.

In 2015, Camilla's presidency of the Women of the World Festival, an annual festival that celebrates the achievements of women and girls as well as looking at the obstacles they face across the world, notably domestic violence, was announced. In 2018 and 2020, she became the vice-patron of the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Royal Academy of Dance, respectively, of which Queen Elizabeth II was a patron. In March 2022, as president of the Royal Voluntary Service, Camilla launched the organisation's Platinum Champions Awards to honour 70 volunteers nominated by the public for their efforts in improving lives in their communities. In the same month, the Queen made Camilla patron of London's National Theatre, a role previously held by Camilla's stepdaughter-in-law Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. In January 2024, Camilla became the first royal patron of the Anne Frank Trust UK.

In May 2024, after a major review of royal patronages and charity presidencies, Camilla took on 15 new patronages, including Army Benevolent Fund, Royal Academy of Dance, Royal Voluntary Service, Royal Literary Fund, Royal Foundation of St Katharine, and Queen's Nursing Institute.

In 1994, Camilla became a member of the National Osteoporosis Society after her mother died from the disease that year. Her maternal grandmother also died from the disease in 1986. She became patron of the charity in 1997 and was appointed president in 2001 in a highly publicised event, accompanied by Charles. In 2002, she launched a mini book, A Skeleton Guide to a Healthy You, Vitamins and Minerals, which aims to help women protect themselves from the disease. The following month, she attended the Roundtable of International Women Leaders to Examine Barriers to Reimbursement for Diagnosis and Treatment of Osteoporosis conference along with 13 eminent women from around the world. The event was organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation and hosted by Queen Rania of Jordan and during it, she made her first public speech. The international conference, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal, brought together worldwide public figures to focus on osteoporosis treatment and called for government assistance around the world. In 2004, she attended another conference in Dublin, organised by the Irish Osteoporosis Society. The following year, she visited the United States National Institutes of Health in Maryland to give a presentation on osteoporosis to high-profile health figures.

Fashion and style

Camilla topped Richard Blackwell's list of "Ten Worst-Dressed Women" in 1994, and her name appeared on it again in 1995, 2001 and 2006. In the years after her marriage, she has developed her own style and tried outfits and ensembles by notable fashion designers. She is said to prefer "signature tea and shirt dress styles" and favours "tones of nude, white and navy" and "round necklines". She has also been praised for her jewellery collections. In 2018, Tatler named her on its list of Britain's best dressed people, praising her for her hat choices which have given "millinery a good name". In 2023, CNN commented that Camilla has honed her public image in part by using the soft power of fashion. Charles and Camilla topped Tatler's Social Power Index for 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the magazine included her on its list of the most glamorous European royals.

In 2022, Camilla took part in her first solo magazine shoot for British Vogue, appearing in the July 2022 issue. The shoot took place at Clarence House, and the outfits were chosen from her own wardrobe. In 2023, she was named among British Vogue's "The Vogue 25", which annually celebrates influential women pushing British society forwards. In response to an enquiry by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Buckingham Palace stated in May 2024 that Camilla would no longer "procure any new fur garments".

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

Upon marrying Charles, Camilla was styled "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall". In Scotland, she was known as "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay". Legally, Camilla was Princess of Wales but adopted the feminine form of her husband's highest-ranking subsidiary title, Duke of Cornwall, in a concession to the low public opinion of her. In 2021, upon the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Charles inherited his father's titles, and Camilla thus became also formally Duchess of Edinburgh until Charles's accession the following year.

Clarence House stated on the occasion of Charles and Camilla's wedding in 2005 that, upon his accession, she intended to be known as princess consort rather than as queen. Like the initial title of duchess, this promise reflected public disapproval. There is no legal or historical precedent for such a title, however, and Camilla was to be queen under common law. The rising public acceptance of her allowed the 2005 announcement to be quietly shelved. In her 2022 Accession Day message, Elizabeth II stated that it was her "sincere wish" for Camilla to be known as queen consort upon Charles's accession to the throne.

Camilla duly became queen consort upon Charles's accession on 8 September 2022. She was initially styled as "Her Majesty The Queen Consort" to distinguish her from the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth II. Since her coronation on 6 May 2023, she has been styled "Her Majesty The Queen", consistent with past queens consort.

Honours

Camilla is a Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Extra Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Grand Master and First and Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, recipient of the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II, recipient of the Royal Family Order of Charles III, and a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the Privy Council of Canada.

Ancestry

Camilla's ancestry is predominantly English. She also has Dutch, Scottish, Colonial American, French and French–Canadian ancestors.

Camilla is descended from Dutch emigrant Arnold Joost van Keppel, who was created Earl of Albemarle by King William III in 1696. Through Anne van Keppel, Countess of Albemarle and a granddaughter of King Charles II, Camilla's bloodline is descended from the Houses of Stuart and Bourbon.

Camilla's Scottish lineage descends from King Robert III through his daughter Mary, who was the mother of Sir William Edmonstone of Duntreath, an ancestor of her maternal great-great-grandfather, Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet. Her paternal ancestors, an upper-class family, emigrated to England from Scotland.

Camilla's French lineage derives partially through her maternal great-great-grandmother, Sophia Mary MacNab of Hamilton, Ontario, daughter of Sir Allan MacNab, who was prime minister of the Province of Canada before Confederation. Sophia's son George Keppel and King Edward VII's mistress Alice Keppel were Camilla's maternal great-grandparents.

Through Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, Camilla and Charles are ninth cousins once removed.

In popular culture

Emerald Fennell and Olivia Williams have portrayed Camilla during various stages of her life on the Netflix series The Crown. Fennell's performance in the 2020 fourth season earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Haydn Gwynne played Camilla in the sitcom The Windsors.

In 2024, to celebrate Queen Camilla's role as President of The WOW Foundation and the work of the foundation in empowering girls and women, Barbie created a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in her likeness.