QUEEN CONSORT CARRIES ON – WITH A BROKEN TOE

THE Queen Consort has reportedly been nursing a broken toe throughout her execution of duties at the King’s side.

Camilla suffered the injury prior to the Queen’s death and has been in “quite a lot of pain”, according to The Daily Telegraph.

A source told the newspaper she has just been “getting on” with the job of supporting the King during an emotionally and physically gruelling week.

“It is unfortunate timing to say the least but she’s been an absolute trouper,” the source reportedly told the newspaper.

The PA news agency approached the King’s spokesman for comment on his wife’s condition and was told: “We won’t comment on medical conditions.”

It news came before the royal couple visited Wales yesterday

– the King’s first visit since he ascended to the throne.

As Charles comes to terms with the reality of becoming King he is being supported through the turbulent first days of his reign by his “darling” Camilla.

She joined him in rushing to Balmoral Castle in the north of Scotland when serious concerns were first raised about the Queen’s health, and has been by his side almost all the time since, in the full glare of the public eye.

The ex-royal mistress who went on to become a duchess is now a Queen and will be crowned alongside her husband.

The public’s perception of the former Mrs Parker Bowles appears to have softened in the 25 years since the death of the Princess of Wales.

Once the object of scathing criticism for being the other woman in Charles and Diana’s marriage, Camilla has been eased into a more public role since she married him in 2005.

And her dutiful support for her 73-year-old husband in these bewildering first days will not have gone unnoticed by the people.

For years she has been Charles’s solid support, staying one step behind him on royal engagements, and he has always maintained that her role alongside him when he stepped up from being Prince of Wales was non-negotiable.

Anita Atkinson, a royal expert and memorabilia collector, told the PA news agency: “Historians in the future who look back on this time will realise that it was Camilla who saved the monarchy, because she saved the King.” Those who know her have always spoken of her witty, warm, down-to-earth attitude and her fruity laugh.