Queen carved out her own role in a male-dominated world, says Camilla
THe Queen Consort has told of her admiration for how the Queen carved out her own role as a ‘solitary woman’ in a maledominated world.
In a televised tribute broadcast last night, Camilla remembered her mother-inlaw’s ‘wonderful blue eyes’ and ‘unforgettable’ smile.
But she also noted how ‘difficult’ it must have been as a female head of state at such a young age when there were no women prime ministers or presidents.
Her heartfelt tribute – recorded earlier in the summer – revealed how the Queen worked hard to keep her public role and private passions separate.
It was her escapes to Balmoral and Sandringham that gave her huge enjoyment, she said, allowing the Queen to have family members to stay and ‘ do the things she loved’.
She told of her love of horse racing – and the steely glare one would receive if they dared question her on how to look after her studs.
Paying tribute to her ‘good sense of humour’, she also described how the Queen had once found it highly amusing when, in a fit of nerves on the day of her wedding to the then Prince of Wales, Camilla had left for the church in odd shoes with different sized heels.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: ‘I remember coming from here, Clarence House, to go to Windsor the day I got married when I probably wasn’t firing on all cylinders, quite nervous and, for some unknown reason, I put on a pair of shoes and one had an inch heel and one had a two-inch heel.
‘So, I mean talk about hop-a-long and there’s nothing I could do. I was halfway down in the car before I realised and she could see and laughed about it and said, “Look I’m terribly sorry”... she did have a good sense of humour.’
Camilla also said: ‘[The Queen’s] got those wonderful blue eyes that when she smiles, they light up her whole face. I’ll always remember that smile... that smile is unforgettable.’
On the eve of her Platinum Jubilee in February, Queen elizabeth II had endorsed the then Duchess of Cornwall as ‘Queen Consort’ for when the time of succession came.
Hoping to ensure as smooth a transition as possible, she called on the public to back both her daughter-in-law and Charles when he became King. Camilla had been blamed for the breakdown of her husband’s first marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, but the public mood towards her has since softened.
After marrying Charles in 2005, she has slowly taken on more royal duties, including sitting next to the Queen during her Diamond Jubilee carriage procession in 2012.
The Queen Consort’s tribute to her mother-in-law was broadcast shortly before the national minute’s silence at 8pm.
She said: ‘[The Queen] has been part of our lives forever. I’m 75 now and I can’t remember anybody except the Queen being there.
‘It must have been so difficult for her being a solitary woman, and there weren’t women prime ministers or women presidents.
‘She was the only one, so I think she carved her own role. She made a rule that she had her private time and her private passions and then her public role and I think that is very important that the diary is planned out so you know when you’re on duty and when you’ve got to do things.
‘Then when she went up to Scotland in August, that was the moment where it was her enjoyment. Although, she was probably working, with her red boxes throughout, she could have her family to stay, she could do the things she loved.
‘Her real passion was racing. She was able to escape to Sandringham. She had the stud next door. She could go every day, see her foals, work out the next meetings for the year. I think she always kept that as her private bit.
‘You wouldn’t dare question her or argue with her on how her horse was bred or how it ran because you’d get a very steely blue-eyed look.’