Camilla
Duchess of Cornwall; Duchess of Rothesay (more)
The Duchess of Cornwall at Trooping the Colour in 2012
Spouse	Andrew Parker Bowles (m. 1973, div. 1995) Charles, Prince of Wales (m. 2005)
Issue
Tom Parker Bowles Laura Lopes
Full name
Camilla Rosemary[fn 1]
House	House of Windsor
Father	Major Bruce Shand
Mother	The Honourable Rosalind Cubitt
Born	(1947-07-17) 17 July 1947 (age 65) London, England
Religion	Anglican (Church of England)

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall GCVO, CSM (Camilla Rosemary; née Shand, previously Parker Bowles; born 17 July 1947),^[1] is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II.

Instead of taking the title "Princess of Wales", she is styled through her husband's secondary titles as "Duchess of Cornwall" and, in Scotland, "Duchess of Rothesay".^[2] The secondary titles were used because of the strong association of the primary title with her husband's first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.^[3] Other titles she holds through her marriage are Countess of Chester and Baroness of Renfrew.

Camilla is the eldest child of Major Bruce Shand and his wife The Honourable Rosalind Cubitt, daughter of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe. She was raised in East Sussex, a county in South East England, and grew up in the British aristocracy. In 1973, she married British army officer Andrew Parker Bowles (now retired) and they had two children. They divorced amicably in 1995. Together they are grandparents to five grandchildren.

The controversial romantic relationship between Camilla and the Prince of Wales was for many years highly publicized in the media. In 2005, it culminated in a civil marriage at Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Clarence House announced that when the Prince of Wales ascends the throne, Camilla will not be styled as a queen, but instead she will adopt the title Princess Consort, which is similar to the style of Prince Albert.

Early life [edit]

Childhood [edit]

Camilla was born Camilla Rosemary Shand at King's College Hospital, London, on 17 July 1947.^[4] She was raised at The Laines, Plumpton, near Lewes, East Sussex.^{[fn 2]} The house was a five-bedroom, former rectory, conveniently situated opposite Plumpton Racecourse.^[5] Her parents were the British Army officer Major Bruce Shand and his wife Rosalind (née Cubitt). Mark Shand and Annabel Elliot are her younger siblings.^[6] Her maternal great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was a mistress of King Edward VII from 1898 to 1910.^[6] On 1 November 1947, Camilla was baptized at Firle Church, Sussex. Her godparents were Hon. Harry Cubitt (her maternal uncle), Major Neil Speke, Heathcoat Amory, Lombard Hobson and Vivien Mosley.^[7][8] The Shands had two homes, one in Plumpton in the Laines and another in London, a three-storey Victorian house in South Kensington. She grew up with dogs and cats.^[9] At a young age, she learned to ride a pony by attending pony camps with a pony club. She also learned to hunt. Her great uncle Charles Cubitt was, for many years, the Master of Crawley Horsham Hounds, and her father was appointed Joint Master of the celebrated Southdown hunt.^[10] Her childhood, as she says, "was perfect in every way".^[5] Biographer Gyles Brandreth describes her childhood:^[9]

Camilla is often described as having had an "Enid Blyton sort of Childhood." In fact, it was much grander than that. Camilla, as a little girl, may have had some personality traits of George, the tomboy girl among the Famous Five, but Enid Blyton’s children were essentially middle-class children and The Shands, without question, belonged to upper class. The Shands had position and they had help - help in the house, help in the garden, help with children. They were gentry. They opened their garden for the local Conservative Party Association summer fête. The End.

Education and adolescence [edit]

At the age of five, Camilla was sent to a co-educational school at Ditchling, a village three miles from Plumpton. The school was established in the mid-1880s and, by every account, in 1952, when Camilla arrived, the values of the place and the facilities remained true to their Victorian origins.^[11] Biographer Christopher Wilson, in the Windsor Knot quotes a former pupil from the period as saying, "A school inspector came and was dumbstruck. He never knew such a place could exist. The school was so harsh I used to say a child who could cope with Dumbrells could cope with anything."^[9] Camilla, it seems, thrived in this environment. In the winter, her mother drove her to school. In the summer, she walked three miles between Plumpton and Ditchling with the family nanny. By all accounts, without exception, she was a healthy, happy, lively, chatty, jolly little girl. School was fine and home was fun.^[11]

In 1957 when Camilla was ten years old, she left Dumbrells to attend fashionable Queen's Gate School in South Kensington due to the long distance from her home to Dumbrells. She was eager to be at a day school and Queen's Gate School was around the corner from her home.^[12] Her classmates while attending Queen's Gate knew her as "Milla".^[13] According to novelist Penelope Fitzgerald, who taught French at the school, Queen's Gate was beginning to change at about the time Camilla arrived there in the late 1950s. "Once upon a time", she said, "it was very much a school where the girls were taught how to write cheques, play bridge and recognize a well-laid table. Gradually it was beginning to bring itself into the twentieth century. The traditional skills of the housewife and mother were still important, but the academic side – languages, history, and science even – was really starting to make its mark." According to Fitzgerald, "She was bright, lively, and rather sporty as I recall. I think she did fencing, she was rather good at fencing."^[13] Camilla left Queen's Gate with one O-level in 1964.^[14] She did not stay on for A levels, which was not planned by her parents.^[13] At the age of sixteen, she traveled abroad to attend the Mon Fertile finishing school in Switzerland. After completing her course there, she made her own decision to travel to France to learn about fine art^[15] at the Institut Britannique in Paris.^[1]

On 25 March 1965, Camilla was a debutante in London.^[6][16] According to Peter Townend, a social editor of Tatler magazine, she was one of 311 debutantes in that year.^[17] A columnist Betty Kenward, who wrote in her column, Jennifer's Diary, published her coming-out party in the Queen magazine.^[16] The party was held at a Georgian house.^[18] 150 guests attended the event, which was described by Kenward as "successful".^[16] After moving from home, Camilla lived in a two-bedroom flat at Belgravia on Cundy Street, off Ebury Square, at the back of Victoria Coach Station.^[19] She shared the flat with the daughter of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn, Moyra Campbell, who had been a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation and whose mother was a close friend to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Lady Moyra moved out when she married.^[20] Camilla's new flat mate became The Hon. Virginia Carrington, daughter of the Conservative politician and a former Guards Officer, Lord Carrington.^[19] Virginia later married Camilla's uncle, Henry Cubitt, 4th Baron Ashcombe, in 1973. The couple divorced in 1979.^[21] Camilla later worked as a part-time secretary in the West End and then took a job at the decorating firm of Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler.^[19] She also became an avid equestrienne and participated in fox hunting (with the Beaufort Hunt)^[22] until hunting with hounds was banned in 2004. Among her interests are horse-riding, gardening and horticulture.^[23]

First marriage [edit]

In the late 1960s, Camilla met Andrew Parker Bowles, then a Guards officer and lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, through his younger brother, Simon Parker Bowles, who was working for her father's wine merchant in South Audley Street.^[24] The pair dated off and on for some years. In 1970, the pair broke up again and Parker Bowles began dating Princess Anne; however, the couple later reconciled in 1973 and their engagement was announced in The Times on 15 March 1973.^[25] They married on 4 July 1973.^[26] She was twenty-six years old while Parker Bowles was thirty-four. The wedding took place at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London. Their bridesmaids included Parker Bowles' goddaughter Lady Emma Herbert.^[27] Eight hundred guests attended the wedding and reception, including royal guests Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. It is claimed that Prince Charles was invited, but declined to attend, due to another commitment which occurred on the same day as the wedding.^[26]

Bolehyde Manor

The couple made their home in Wiltshire, purchasing the part thirteenth century/mainly seventeenth century manor house Bolehyde Manor, at Allington, near Chippenham.^[28] They had two children: Tom, born in the year after their marriage, who became a godson of Prince Charles, and Laura, born in 1978;^[29] both children were raised in their father's Roman Catholic faith, although both were married in the Church of England; Tom, like his father, is in remainder to the Earldom of Macclesfield.^[30]

In 1995, after 22 years of marriage, Camilla and her husband filed for divorce, in the same year as her mother, Rosalind, died from osteoporosis. Her father, Major Shand, described this period as a "difficult time for her".^[31] The couple released a statement on their decision in 1995 stating their divorce was "amicable" and claimed it was due to different interests, which eventually led to separate lives.^[32] However, it was also believed that the Prince of Wales's public revelation of his relationship with Camilla was a major factor in their decision.^[32] The divorce was finalized on 3 March 1995.^[33]

Relationship with the Prince of Wales [edit]

Camilla and Prince Charles reportedly met in the summer of 1971 at a polo match at Smith's Lawn in Windsor Great Park.^[34] It is stated she approached Charles and introduced herself to him.^[34] Biographer Gyles Brandreth suggests although the couple did meet at a polo match, she did not approach him but instead a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, introduced them for the first time.^[35][36][37] They eventually began dating, which was well known in their social circle, though not to the press. The relationship was put on hold after Charles traveled overseas to join the Royal Navy in early 1973; it officially ended after Camilla married her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles in July 1973.^[38]

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra
v t e

There have been different statements on why the couple's relationship ended in 1973. Robert Lacey wrote in his 2008 book, Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, that Charles had met Camilla too early, and that he had not asked her to wait for him when he went overseas for military duties.^[39] Sarah Bradford wrote in her 2007 book, Diana, that a member of the close circle of his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten stated Mountbatten arranged for Charles to be posted overseas to end the relationship with Camilla, and to pave a way for a possible engagement to his granddaughter, Amanda Knatchbull.^[40] Some sources also suggest the Queen Mother did not approve of the marriage because she wanted Charles to marry one of the Spencer family granddaughters of her close friend, Lady Fermoy. Other sources also suggest Camilla did not want to marry Charles but instead wanted to marry Andrew Parker Bowles since she had an off and on relationship with Parker Bowles that began in the 1960s^[25] or that Charles had decided he would not marry until he was thirty years old.^[41]

Overall, many royal biographers have agreed that even if Charles and Camilla wanted to marry or did try for approval to get married, it would have been declined, because according to Charles's cousin Patricia Mountbatten, palace courtiers at that time found Camilla unsuitable as a wife for the future king. She was quoted as saying, "it wouldn't have been possible, not then."^[42]

Charles was heartbroken when he heard of the engagement of Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, writing to Lord Mountbatten: "I suppose the feeling of emptiness will pass eventually."^[43][44] Nevertheless they remained friends. Charles began dating other women including Susan George, Lady Jane Wellesley and Davina Sheffield. Sheffield was later disqualified as a potential royal wife after the press exposed a past relationship, which made her unsuitable.^[45] Charles and Camilla renewed their romantic relationship in 1979. She became his confidant after the IRA murdered Lord Mountbatten in August 1979.^[46] Charles was said to have been grief-stricken over his death and turned to Camilla for consolation.^[47] Aware of the renewal, Parker Bowles allegedly gave consent to the relationship during their marriage.^[48] Parker Bowles was said to have been flattered by the Prince of Wales's interest in his wife and family.^[49] It did not bother him since he also pursued relationships with other women.^[50] The couple ended their relationship again after Charles married Diana Spencer in 1981.^[51]

The affair became public knowledge in the press a decade later, with the publication of Diana: Her True Story in 1992, followed by the Camillagate scandal, wherein intimate telephone conversation between Camilla and Charles was secretly recorded and the transcripts were published in the tabloids.^[52][53] The tapes instantly damaged Charles's reputation. Newspapers began publishing articles on how the tapes could remove him from the line of succession and cost him the throne.^[54] Camilla, on the other hand was in despair, the press besieged her so much, "it was hell for her," said a friend.^[55] Nevertheless, she and her husband stayed together. Parker Bowles later released a statement assuring family and friends that everything was well between them.^[56] His younger brother, Simon, also confirmed by saying, "Both Andrew and Camilla said they will never divorce, and while the relationship is rather eccentric, it appears to work. They get on well."^[56]

In 1994, Charles confirmed in a televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby that the relationship between him and Camilla resumed after his marriage had "irretrievably broken down" in 1986.^[57][58] He told Dimbleby, "Mrs. Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine...a friend for a very long time. She will continue to be a friend for a long time."^[59][60] Following this, the Parker Bowleses announced their own divorce the following year, having been living apart for some time,^[31] and a year later Andrew Parker Bowles married his long-time mistress Rosemary Pitman. The same year Diana gave an interview on the BBC programme Panorama, during which she was asked if she thought the relationship between Camilla and the Prince of Wales contributed to the breakdown of their marriage, to which she replied: "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."^[61] Though Camilla kept a low profile at all times, she became unpopular through this revelation.^[62]

Image rehabilitation [edit]

Following the couples' divorces, Charles stated his relationship with Camilla was, and is, "non-negotiable".^[63][64][65]

Charles was aware that the relationship was receiving a lot of negative publicity, and appointed Mark Bolland, recruited by Charles in 1995 to refurbish his own image, to enhance Camilla's image.^[66] Discreetly, Camilla occasionally became Charles's unofficial companion at events. This temporarily ceased when Diana, Princess of Wales, died in August 1997. In 1999, the couple made their first public appearance together at the Ritz Hotel in London where they attended a birthday party.^[67] There were about 200 cameramen there to see them together.^[68] As part of this effort to burnish her reputation, Camilla became the President of the National Osteoporosis Society, which first introduced her to the public.^[69] In 2000, her status was strengthened when she accompanied the Prince of Wales to Scotland for a series of official engagements.^[69] She later met the Queen, for the first time since the relationship came out, at the 60th birthday party of King Constantine II of Greece. This meeting was seen as an apparent seal of approval by the Queen on Camilla's relationship with Charles.^[70][71]

After an orchestrated series of appearances at public and private venues, the Queen invited Camilla to her Golden Jubilee in 2002. She sat in the royal box behind the Queen for one of the concerts at Buckingham Palace.^[72] The same year, she received an invitation by the Queen to attend the Queen Mother's funeral.^[73][74] Camilla commuted between Highgrove House and her own home on a regular basis. In London, she stayed at St James's Palace, where the staff supposedly curtseyed to her and addressed her as "Ma'am".^[69][75][76] At almost all private occasions, she accompanied the Prince of Wales.^[69] In addition, she attended the Holyrood House garden party and Sandringham House flower show.^[69][77] Though she maintained her residence in Wiltshire, Camilla then moved into Clarence House, the former home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, which became Charles's household in 2003.^[78]

In 2004, after Bolland had resigned as the Deputy Private Secretary of the Prince of Wales, he was asked in the press about what Camilla felt about her image; he replied by saying:^[79]

Camilla's a lovely woman – kind and patient. She has no desire to be famous, or popular. What she doesn't want is to be hated. The period when she was demonised and traduced by newspapers was very upsetting for her, and it upset him [Charles] enormously too, because he felt responsible for it. I don't think she'll be anxious about being more in the background than she was. I don't necessarily think there's a deliberate campaign to marginalise her.

On 10 February 2005, Clarence House announced their engagement. A poll immediately came out, conducted by YouGov on how the public felt, 65 percent of respondents agreed the couple should marry.^[80]

Engagement and second marriage [edit]

On 10 February 2005, it was announced by Clarence House that Camilla and the Prince of Wales were engaged; Camilla had been presented with the royal engagement ring that had belonged to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Charles proposed on bended knee.^[3] As he is the future Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the prospect of Charles marrying a divorcée was seen as controversial, but with the consent of the Queen, Parliament and the Church of England, the couple were able to wed.^[81]

The marriage was to have been on 8 April 2005, and was to take place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, with a subsequent religious blessing at St George's Chapel. To conduct a civil marriage at Windsor Castle would oblige the venue to obtain a licence for civil marriages, which it did not have. A condition of such a licence is that the licensed venue must be available for a period of one year to anyone wishing to be married there. As the Royal Family did not wish to make Windsor Castle available to the public for civil marriages, even just for one year, the location was changed to the town hall at Windsor Guildhall.^[82][83]

On 4 April it was announced that the marriage would be delayed by one day to allow the Prince of Wales and some of the invited dignitaries to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.^[84] Charles's parents chose not attend the marriage ceremony (the Queen may not have felt able to attend the remarriage of a divorcee, due to her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England),^[85] and Camilla's father was also absent; instead Camilla's son and Prince William acted as witnesses to the union.^[86] The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh did, however, attend the service of blessing, which included acknowledgment of their transgressions and repentance.^[87] Afterwards a reception was held for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle.^[88] Following the wedding, the couple travelled to the Prince's country home in Scotland, Birkhall,^[89] and carried out their first public duties as a couple during their honeymoon.^[90]

Duchess of Cornwall [edit]

After becoming Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla automatically acquired rank as the second highest female in the orders of precedence in the United Kingdom (after the Queen), and as typically fifth or sixth in the orders of precedence of the other Commonwealth realms, following the Queen, the relevant viceroy, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales. It was revealed that the Queen altered the royal order of precedence for private occasions, placing Camilla fourth, after the Queen, the Princess Royal, and Princess Alexandra.^[91][92] Within two years of the marriage, the Queen extended Camilla visible tokens of membership in the Royal Family; use of a tiara of the Queen Mother^[93] and the badge of the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.

Though no details were publicly released, it was confirmed in March 2007 that the Duchess had undergone a hysterectomy.^[94] According to an announcement by Clarence House, it was the Duchess's intent to attend the anniversary memorial service for Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 2007, along with her husband and stepsons. She withdrew from attending, stating that she wished not to "divert attention from the purpose of the occasion which is to focus on the life and service of Diana".^[95] On 8 April 2010, the Duchess broke her left leg while hill walking in Scotland.^[96] Despite the injury, she carried out all her official engagements which were scheduled for that month.^[97]

In November 2010, the Duchess and her husband were indirectly involved in the 2010 British student protests when their car was attacked by protesters.^[98] She was physically attacked when a rioter managed to push a stick into the royal limousine and jab her in the ribs.^[99] Clarence House later released a statement on the incident, "A car carrying Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall was attacked by protesters but the couple were unharmed."^[100] The Duchess was a prominent participant in the celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II during the extended weekend of 2–5 June 2012, especially following the absence of the Duke of Edinburgh owing to ill health on 4–5 June. She stood next to the Queen during the speech by the Prince of Wales at the conclusion of the Diamond Jubilee Concert and was seated next to the Queen the following day in the carriage procession from Westminster to Buckingham Palace.^[101]

Royal duties [edit]

Prince Charles and Camilla are greeted by Federal Emergency Management Agency officials as they arrive to tour the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, November 2005

Initially, Camilla's royal duties involved accompanying the Prince of Wales on his official obligations as the heir apparent.

The Duchess made her inaugural overseas tour, to the United States, in November 2005.^[102] During their tour in the United States, they met President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the White House. Afterward they visited New Orleans to see the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and met a few of the hundreds of thousands of residents affected by the Hurricane.^[103] Following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the Duchess and the Prince visited victims of the attack at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.^[104] In March 2006, the couple undertook official visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.^[105] In November 2007, they made a four-day visit to Turkey.^[106] In 2008, she joined the Prince on a tour of the Caribbean, Japan, Brunei and Indonesia.^[107] With the Prince of Wales, she toured Chile, Brazil, Ecuador,^[108] Italy and Germany in 2009. Their visit to the Holy See included a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI.^[109] The Pope presented them with an honorary medal and a drawing of St Peter's Basilica.^[110] In November 2009, they visited Canada in a highly-publicized tour. In early 2010, they undertook an official visit to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland.^[111] In October 2010, Camilla accompanied the Prince of Wales to Delhi, India, for the opening of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.^[112]

Official opening of the Fourth Assembly at the National Assembly building, Cardiff, Wales. From left to right: Carwyn Jones (First Minister of Wales), the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen and Rosemary Butler (Presiding officer of the National Assembly), 7 June 2011.

In March 2011, the Duchess and Prince of Wales undertook official visits to Portugal, Spain and Morocco.^[113] The tour began in Lisbon, Portugal, where among other engagements Prince Charles and Camilla celebrated long-standing co-operation between the Portuguese and British navies, supported British trade and investment opportunities and highlighted the work of the substantial resident British community. The President of Portugal later hosted an official dinner to welcome them. In Spain, Camilla and Charles were received in Madrid by the Prince and Princess of Asturias. They attended an official dinner at the Royal Palace having lunch with the King and Queen of Spain. The spring tour finished in Morocco. In Rabat, they were guests of the King of Morocco, and attended an official dinner.^[114] Camilla attended the 10th anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks along with the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, on 11 September 2011.^[115] In August 2011, the Duchess accompanied the Prince of Wales to Tottenham, breaking off their holiday to show solidarity with the deprived north London community scarred by violence in that year's riots.^[116][117] The couple surprised Tottenham shoppers in February 2012 as they visited businesses targeted in the riots to see how they were recovering.^[118] In November 2011, Camilla undertook official visits with the Prince of Wales to Arab States of the Persian Gulf and Commonwealth states. They toured South Africa and Tanzania and met President Jacob Zuma and President Jakaya Kikwete.^[119]

The Duchess of Cornwall being driven away from St Paul's Cathedral during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, 5 June 2012.

From 20 to 27 March 2012, the Duchess and Prince undertook official visits to Norway, Sweden and Denmark to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.^[120] In May 2012, the royal couple undertook a four-day trip to Canada as part of the Jubilee celebrations. Highlights of the tour included the celebration of Victoria Day, which took place on 21 May 2012.^[121] In November 2012, the Duchess and the Prince of Wales visited Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea for a two-week Diamond Jubilee tour.^[122] During the Australian tour, they attended the 2012 Melbourne Cup, where the Duchess presented the trophy to the winner of the race.^[123]

Camilla's first solo engagement was a visit to a hospital in Southampton; she attended the Trooping the Colour for the first time in June 2005, making her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards. She conducted the naming ceremony for HMS Astute on 8 June 2007, and, on 10 December, she did the same for the new Cunard cruise ship, MS Queen Victoria,^[124] it being said that the Queen had been surprised by Cunard's invitation. In May 2011, she attended the Classic Brit Awards and honoured James Bond composer and Oscar-winner John Barry with a posthumous award for his outstanding contribution to music.^[125] In June 2011, Camilla alone represented the British royal family at the 125th Wimbledon Tennis Championships in Wimbledon.^[126] In 2013, she attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time.^[127]

Patronages and charity work [edit]

The Duchess’s patronages and charity work is varied with numerous themes including animal welfare, promoting literacy, health and well-being, heritage and the arts, helping those in need and Cornwall-based charities.

She is the patron of The Royal School, Hampstead (an independent girls' school),^[128] Animal Care Trust (under the umbrella of the Royal Veterinary College),^[129] Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists,^[130] Unicorn Theatre for Children, Cornwall Community Foundation, Cornish Air Ambulance Service, Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, Youth Action Wiltshire, The Girls' Friendly Society, National Literacy Trust, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Plumpton College Charitable Foundation, New Queen's Hall Orchestra, St John's Smith Square, London Chamber Orchestra, and Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond (jointly with the Prince of Wales). She is president of Scotland's Gardens Scheme and the National Osteoporosis Society (the first charity with which she was officially associated), as well as president or patron of other charities.^[129]

Camilla is the honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy Medical Service. In this role she visited the training-ship HMS Excellent in January 2012, to award medals to naval medical teams returning from service in Afghanistan.^[131] In March 2012, the Duchess became the patron of the Big Jubilee Lunch (BJL), in which communities across the Commonwealth held lunches including street parties, garden gatherings and picnics on 3 June 2012, as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.^[132] In 2013, she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, a role which is ceremonial and will involve conferring graduates with their degrees.^[133] For years, she has advocated for help for sexual assault and rape victims to overcome and move past their trauma. She has spoken to victims at a rape crisis center in Croydon and often visits other centers to meet with victims getting help.^{[129][134][135]}

Titles, styles, honours and arms [edit]

Titles and styles [edit]

Royal Monogram

• 17 July 1947 – 4 July 1973: Miss Camilla Rosemary Shand
• 4 July 1973 – 3 March 1995: Mrs Andrew Parker Bowles
• 3 March 1995 – 9 April 2005: Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles
• 9 April 2005 – present : Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall
  • in Scotland: 9 April 2005 – present: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay^[2]

Camilla's title and style in full: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.^[2]

Because the title "Princess of Wales" became strongly associated with the previous holder of that title, Diana, Princess of Wales, Camilla has adopted the feminine form of her husband's highest-ranking subsidiary title, Duke of Cornwall.^[2] Unless any specific Act of Parliament is passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom (and other Commonwealth states) to the contrary, if Charles becomes king, she can assume by courtesy the style of "Queen Camilla".^[136][137] However, Clarence House stated^[138] that when Charles becomes king, Camilla will adopt the unprecedented style of Princess Consort, similar to the style of Prince Albert. This is not the same usage as her father-in-law, the Duke of Edinburgh, who does not hold the title of Prince Consort.

Honours [edit]

See also List of honours of the British Royal Family by country

Appointments [edit]

• 30 October 2007: Member of the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
• 9 April 2012: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)^[139]
• 3 November 2012: Companion of the Order of the Star of Melanesia (CSM)^[140]

Medals [edit]

• 2005: Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan
• 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Honorary military appointments [edit]

The Duchess of Cornwall holds the following military appointments:

Australia

• 2012–: Colonel-in-Chief, The Royal Australian Corps of Military Police^[141]

Canada

• 2010–: Colonel-in-Chief, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada^[142]

United Kingdom

• : Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion of The Rifles
• 2008–: Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton
• : Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Leeming
• : Commodore-in-Chief of the Naval Medical Services
• : Commodore-in-Chief Naval Chaplaincy Service
• : Lady sponsor of HMS Astute^[143]

Arms [edit]

Arms of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Notes On the duchess' 58th birthday, Clarence House announced that Camilla had been granted by the Queen a coat of arms for her own personal use. It was reported that the Queen, Charles, and Camilla all took a "keen interest" in the arms' creation, and they were prepared by Peter Gwynn-Jones, Garter Principal King of Arms.[144] The Duchess' coat of arms impale the Prince of Wales' main coat of arms to the dexter, with her father's coat of arms to the sinister.[145] Adopted 17 July 2005 Coronet Coronet of the Prince of Wales Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent (the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom), the whole difference with a label of three points Argent; with an inescutcheon of four lions passant guardant, in gold and red, counterchanged, surmounted by the coronet of the heir (for the Principality of Wales); impaled with a shield of Azure a Boar's Head erased close Argent armed and langued Or on a Chief engrailed Argent between two Mullets Gules a Cross crosslet fitchy Sable.[145] Supporters Dexter: a lion rampant gardant Or crowned with the coronet of the heir, differenced with a label of three points Argent; sinister: a Boar Azure armed and unguled Or langued Gules and gorged with a Coronet composed of crosses formy and fleurs-de-lys attached thereto a Chain reflexed over the back and ending in a ring all Or.[145] Orders The Royal Victorian Order circlet. VICTORIA Other elements Insignia of GCVO appended Symbolism Aside from the invention of a boar supporter (reflected in her paternal arms) for the sinister side, Camilla's coat of arms is entirely consistent with the historical heraldic arrangement for a married woman who is not a heraldic heiress. Previous versions Previous versions were depicted without the Royal Victorian Order, in which she was only appointed in 2012.

Issue [edit]

Ancestry [edit]

According to genealogist William Addams Reitwiesner, Camilla’s ancestry is predominantly French, English, Dutch, and Scottish.^[146]

Camilla is descended from Arnold Joost van Keppel, who was created the Earl of Albemarle by King William III of England in 1696.^[147] His son, Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, married Lady Anne Lennox, who was the daughter of Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son of King Charles II. Through Anne Lennox, her bloodline is directly descended from the House of Stuart.^[148] Her great-grandfather, Viscount Bury, was an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria and for many years Treasurer of Her Majesty's household.^[149]

Through her great-great-grandfather George Cubitt, who was created the first Baron Ashcombe, she is descended from Thomas Cubitt, a prominent Victorian architect who was responsible for the creation of Queen Victoria's home, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, and for the remodeling and restoration of Buckingham Palace.^[150] He was the father of the Baron.^[151] Through Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle, she is related to Judith Keppel, the first winner of the top prize on the television game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. They are second cousins once removed.^[146]

Through her French lineage, Camilla's maternal line great-great-grandmother was Sophia Mary MacNab of Hamilton, Ontario, who was the descendant of 17th century immigrants to Quebec, and the daughter of Sir Allan MacNab, who was the Prime Minister of the Province of Canada before Confederation. Sophia was also the wife of William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle.^[152] Their son, George, was the husband of Alice Edmonstone, who was a mistress of King Edward VII, the great-great-grandfather of Prince Charles.^[152] Also through The Hon. George Keppel on Camilla's side and through the Queen Mother on Charles's side, Camilla and Charles are ninth cousins once removed.^[153][154] She is also a descendant of French colonist Zacharie Cloutier, who founded one of the principal families of Quebec City.^[155]

Footnotes [edit]

1. ^ On the unusual occasions when a surname is used, it is Mountbatten-Windsor.
2. ^ Some sources report that she was born in Plumpton, but it seems that this is a confusion of her childhood home as her birth place.

References [edit]

Books [edit]

Further reading [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

• "Official website of the British monarchy – HRH The Duchess of Cornwall". Royal Household. 
• "Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall". Duchy of Cornwall Office. 
• "The Duchess of Cornwall". The Prince of Wales. 
• "Special section on the marriage of Camilla and Prince Charles". BBC News. 15 August 2007. 
• Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at the Internet Movie Database

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