Queen of laughs
but marriage was out of the question as Camilla was clearly not a virgin. In 1973 she wed Andrew Parker Bowles – who had previously dated Charles’ sister Princess Anne.
Charles and Camilla stayed pals and she encouraged him to wed Di – and he even proposed in the Parker Bowles’ veg garden.
But after marrying in 1981, Diana grew more and more jealous of the friendship between “Fred and Gladys”, as Charles and Camilla nicknamed each other.
It later emerged they reignited their affair after Prince Harry was born in 1984. The depth of their intimacy became clear in 1992 with the “Camillagate” tapes.
Then in 1995 Diana declared in a TV interview: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” Camilla’s fate as femme fatale was sealed. Yet, somehow, she managed to keep a dignified silence through years of abuse.
In a rare interview in May, Camilla told You magazine: “It was horrid, deeply unpleasant and I wouldn’t put my worst enemy through it. I couldn’t have survived it without my family.” She maintained a “glass half full” mentality, adding: “You just have to get on with it. Being British!”that down-toearth approach made Camilla the perfect She has a hoot with William companion for the neurotic, navelgazing Prince of Wales.
A longtime friend said: “She had no side, no complexity. She is 100 per cent sure of who she is.
“She is warm, witty, endlessly cheerful and has the ability to laugh at everything and tease Charles out of his Eeyore grumpiness.”
On royal visits they share the tedium – and moments of hilarity. Only days ago they had a fit of the giggles while listening to bizarre Inuit throat singers in Canada. “Milla makes Charles truly happy,” said another old friend. “I was full of admiration for what Diana did, but they were not suited and were not happy.”
Some friends fear Camilla’s new-found popularity could dip as next month’s 20th Charles’ 2005 wedding anniversary of Diana’s death draws near. But Camilla has cemented her place in the Royal Family. In 2012 the Queen made her a Grand Dame Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and last June elevated her to the Privy Council.
That was seen by many as a signal Charles does plan to make his wife Queen Camilla – although 55 per cent of Brits were still against it in a 2015 Comres poll.
But one royal watcher said: “By the time Elizabeth dies Camilla will be a cherished piece of royal furniture. She will not just be an acceptable Queen, but a deserving one.”
And, come the night of the Coronation party, nothing would make King Charles III more proud than to stand and raise another toast.
This time to his darling wife – Queen Camilla.
rachael.bletchly@trinitymirror.com