One of Queen Camilla’s close friends remembered her queen saying that “never in a million years did she believe she would be queen” and yet….
It was King Charles’s megadose of PR and marketing fueled by love, that changed the course of the British crown.
The Love Story of King Charles and Queen Camilla is entirely different from that of his father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, or any other hereditary heir to the British throne. The coronation on May 6th turned history upside down if you consider Charles’s uncle, King Edward VIII, and beloved mistress Wallis Simpson, or when you read about King Edward VII, the son of Queen Victoria whose mistress was Camilla’s own great-grandmother, Alice Keppel.
From Mistress to Ma’am
After addressing a British queen as "Your Majesty" once, it is correct to address the Queen as "Ma'am", rhyming with the British pronunciation of "jam" for the remainder of a conversation which is a million light years beyond the gossip, criticism and even hatred that once flowed towards Camilla.
While Camilla’s great-grandmother had been the mistress of King Charles’s great-great-grandfather from 1898 until his death in 1910, the highest honor for her was the invitation from the queen, Alexandra, to say her last farewell at the king’s deathbed. In those days there was a careful playbook for mistress, monarch, and marriage that would never mix.
In the next generation, for Wallis Simpson, who was twice divorced and an unpopular American arriviste, marrying her King, Edward VIII, required him to abdicate the throne and live in exile in France. Queen Elizabeth II’s Uncle David committed every PR blunder believing himself to be above public rebuke, but the love and respect of the British people finally evaporated when his photo op with Hitler was published during the days before WWII. So though she was never to be queen, Wallis was also deprived of the coveted HRH, Her Royal Highness, title
Camilla had begun her steps to the throne as a favorite of Charles, then the Prince of Wales, but she had refused his proposals of marriage, knowing how stringently limited the royal lifestyle would be. This rule to “know your place and don’t rock the boat” would prompt the downfall of both Diana and Fergie who chafed against The Firm’s rules and regs that had changed so little since Queen Victoria’s harsh dictate of “I am not amused”.
Changing Morals of The Monarchy
Eventually, it became public knowledge that Charles and Camilla had never severed their ties and that they had continued their affair. When the infamous tell-all BBC interview with Lady Di was aired, it shocked the general public and led to the Prince and Princess of Wales’s divorce because while Queen Elizabeth had little taste or tolerance for divorce, a scandal was even more radioactive to her. However, Diana was still adored by so many British subjects, it looked hopeless for Camilla until Di’s own PR backfired. The information Diana provided about her own infidelities led to her losing the possibility of becoming queen in a monarchy that values privacy and self-control. Most people don’t realize that in a royal family, you need the monarch’s permission to marry or to divorce. Eventually, in 1996, after being separated for four years, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales officially divorced with Queen Elizabeth’s approval. In exchange for a generous settlement, the right to retain her apartments at Kensington Palace, and her title of “Princess of Wales,” Diana agreed to relinquish the title of “Her Royal Highness” and any future claims to the British throne which were the key to the future of Camilla and Charles’s relationship.
Once Diana and Charles were divorced, various major PR campaigns began; Charles began promoting his marriage to Camilla as never before and he eventually convinced Queen Elizabeth that he would never give up Camilla and that Camilla’s reputation could be scrubbed clean.
But this story shifted to a tragic truth that is stranger than fiction when the death of Diana opened an unexpected space for Charles to be united with the woman he had always adored. First, he campaigned to turn around his mother’s disapproval, stating that he must have Camilla as his consort. When his mum, Queen Elizabeth II finally accepted this, the major PR campaign began to bring the British people to the point of view that Camilla could become his wife.
Camilla’s Devotion to Duty and to Charles Changed her Image as The Most Hated Woman in Britain to Becoming an Acceptable and Accepted Queen
In the years since 2005 when Charles and Camilla married, Camilla has become a major force among the “working royals”, those in The Firm, as the royal family is called, who appear to open hospitals, and christen boats and attend various fundraisers. This is the way to the British people’s hearts and the way to Queen Elizabeth’s as well who devoted 70 years to duty and service. The direct connection between service and acceptance is the key in the United Kingdom and was always the key to Princess Anne, Princess Royal who is honored and appreciated for her countless good works.
Queen Camilla is Crowned
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth’s father, the decision was made to enhance the image of the British royal family as a family, something that the nation could understand and appreciate. Veering away from her Uncle David’s playboy habits, her father was a family man which became the new normal for The Firm, one that is a perfect fit for Charles.
For anyone who still questions the right of Camilla to be Queen, they need only observe her wifely support and devotion to King Charles, knowing that love rather than ambition motivated her as the chance of becoming queen was extremely slim. This demonstration of love which we know from the tabloids has always been fun and sexy as well as stable and has brought forth an entirely new life force to the British monarchy is the best example for all their subjects and supporters that you can have it all, though it took King Charles 74 years to arrive.
Please enjoy the version of my article on yourtango.com
My Article on Queen Camilla and King Charles