KEEPING FRIENDS CLOSE
Camilla and Charles have long surrounded themselves with a tight-knit social group, whom they trust and who are loyal to them.
Among those closest to Camilla are Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner (90) – known as Lady Glenconner – who was a maid of honour at the queen’s coronation and has described Camilla as “wonderful with a lovely sense of humour”.
Others in the inner circle include British artist Catherine Goodman, Lady Sarah Keswick, who’s one of Camilla’s oldest friends, and Kirsty Smallwood, a school friend and granddaughter of the press baron Lord Beaverbrook.
Then there’s Lucia Santa Cruz, daughter of a former Chilean ambassador. Lucia met Charles at a dinner party in 1969 and he’s said to have fallen for her hard.
“She was the first real love of his life,” a royal insider says. Charles even introduced her to his family at Balmoral Castle in Scotland before the relationship fizzled out.
Lucia moved into a flat in Belgravia, London, in 1971 and one of her neighbours was a young debutante called Camilla Shand. She introduced her to Charles – and set history on its course.
Lucia is close to Charles but is especially tight with Camilla and is one of her greatest admirers.
“Camilla hasn’t become at all imperious,” she tells Angela Levin in the biography about her friend. “Sometimes when people have had a transformation into something grander and more important, they change. But Camilla hasn’t.”