British royal family news shows that Queen Camilla turned 76 today and it was her first birthday as Queen Consort. Hers has been a redemption story, a tale of forgiveness after decades of being reviled by the public for the alleged role she played in the breakup of King Charles’ first marriage to Diana.
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On May 6 Charles and Camilla were crowned King and Queen following his mother Queen Elizabeth’s 70 year reign. Thirty years before today, public opinion of Camilla was so dim it begged belief that she would be in the role she is now. Let’s dissect what happened to turn the tide.
Royal Family News: Camilla’s Birthday
First of all, she was taken down a peg upon marrying Charles, being given a lesser title, Duchess of Cornwall, than the one held by Diana.
It was also believed that she would be known as “Princess Consort” rather than Queen, but the late queen “publicly expressed her ‘sincere wish’ that Camilla be known as Queen Consort when the time came.”
Royal Family News: Camilla Is Queen
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As the Daily Mail reports, “Queen Camilla, … can look back at some satisfaction at a royal career, which had a disastrous start – despite being considered ‘non negotiable’ by the king.”
Even family members have had trouble cottoning to Camilla, most infamously Prince Harry who claimed that “the Queen Consort masterminded the overhauling of her reputation, which once saw her described as the most hated woman in Britain.” Charles met Camilla in 1971 and “was taken with her instantly, according to royal biographer Penny Juror.”
But Camilla was “deemed unsuitable by senior figures in the Royal establishment.”
Royal Family News: Camilla Deemed Unsuitable
Instead, married Andrew Parker Bowles; the couple split in 1995 after 22 years of marriage and two children. And Charles married Diana.
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With their marriages under pressure, Charles and Camilla started to see each other once again: “The Queen is said to have regarded Camilla as an adulteress who had led her bachelor son astray. And then came the 1989 ‘Tampon-gate’ scandal.
Somehow someone listened in to a call between them which was sold to the media. In the call Charles “spoke of wishing to be close to Camilla in intimate terms – and expressed a fear of being reincarnated as a tampon.” According to Tina Brown the media went after Camilla with gloves off calling her “old bag, old trout.”
But now many see her steadying influence on her husband as a reason to like her. Royal expert Robert Jobson stated that Charles “is smiley and laughing” with his wife, and isn’t that true love should be?
Happy Birthday Queen Camilla!
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