‘Camilla is keeping royal show on road’

CRISIS is often an overused word but it’s the most appropriate description of what has befallen the Royal Family since Christmas: the King being treated for cancer; the Princess of Wales laid low by abdominal surgery and now also coping with a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy; and the Prince of Wales rightly focused on his wife and their young children.

And while troupers like the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will no doubt do their bit, there is one person on whose shoulders rests the future of the monarchy: Queen Camilla.

In the past few weeks she has stepped up to represent her husband, the King, at key events, from the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, to the memorial service for King Constantine at St George’s Chapel, Windsor from which William was so mysteriously absent – he and Kate had just learnt of her cancer diagnosis – to last week’s visit to Northern Ireland, which included meeting the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

Now as the King continues his treatment, and the Prince and Princess of Wales retreat to be with their children, Queen Camilla will be even more centre stage. Just how important she has become will be evident as she steps in for the King at this week’s Maundy Thursday service in Worcester Cathedral.

This is one of the major fixtures of the monarch’s diary, when special Maundy coins are distributed to pensioners who have done great service for their communities.

The Queen will effectively be deputising for her husband as both King and also in his role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

That a woman once vilified as being the greatest threat to the monarchy’s future is now keeping the royal show on the road and giving it some semblance of stability is extraordinary. This is the woman who used to be blamed for the collapse of Charles and Diana’s marriage.

And among those who thought so were the clerics of the Church of England. In the early 1990s, a poll of Anglican vicars showed almost half thought Charles could never become Supreme Governor because of his relationship with Camilla.

What a difference 30 years have made. Camilla has been loyally by the King’s side since 2005 when they married. She won round Queen Elizabeth II – and indeed the rest of the family – with her quiet dedication to the institution of the monarchy. As Princess Anne said in a documentary about the Coronation, Camilla was not born to this life, “but her understanding of her role and how much difference it makes to the King has been absolutely outstanding”.

And as she continues to hold the fort, the public will no doubt warm to her more and more. It is one of the most remarkable Royal turnarounds we have witnessed in years.