Here are more photos of Queen Camilla going solo in Worcester on Maundy Thursday. She’s the first consort to stand in for the monarch at Maundy services, and as I said yesterday, Camilla was practically glowing. She loves being the last royal standing. She loves doing events solo. You guys need to lean into this: Camilla won. And it’s hilarious, in a way. By acknowledging that Camilla won, you’re acknowledging that the dumbass Windsors got played, and that the monarchy is now being defined by Queen Side Chick. Camilla played the game better than all of them, and she’s still playing the game. Thus, Becky English at the Mail did another sycophantic piece about how everything’s coming up Camilla!
The transformation of Queen Camilla from understudy to centre-stage star will, no doubt, continue to be discussed by historians many decades from now. When she married the King almost 19 years ago, royal aides were at pains to stress that the then Duchess of Cornwall very much saw herself as an adjunct. Her role, they said, was to support her husband in the pursuit of his increasingly heavy royal duties, while building up a small portfolio of patronages she was keen to support.
No one in her orbit – let alone the lady herself – dreamed that she would one day be crowned at her husband’s side (with the blessing and approval of Queen Elizabeth, no less), let alone stand in for His Majesty at events such as the annual royal Maundy service in Worcester. While King Charles diligently continues to undertake daily state business behind the scenes despite his ongoing cancer treatment, Queen Camilla now finds herself, to all intents and purposes, his front of house. Once considered to be one of the most hated women in Britain, many have been won over by her warmth, humour, strong sense of duty and, frankly, classic British ‘let’s just keep this bloody show on the road-ism’.
One royal retainer, who has witnessed many of the family’s twists and turns over the years, told me recently that they are genuinely glad to see Camilla’s diligence and sense of duty recognised at long last. ‘She’s been an absolute trooper, really she has,’ they said. ‘She’s worried about her husband, everyone is. His Majesty is doing amazingly well but it’s tough to see someone you love go through an experience like this. And yet she just gets up and goes out there, doing exactly what’s asked of her with a smile on her face.’
Like many people caring for a loved one with a serious illness, Camilla is torn between being by her husband’s side and doing what’s expected of her. But she knows the King (she respectfully never publicly refers to him as anything but the King or His Majesty, even to those she knows well) hates being fussed over and still has a prodigious work ethic.
‘She’s spending as much of her time as she can with her husband but also believes that one of the best ways she can support him is by going out in public to represent him,’ one aide remarks. Another member of their circle says: ‘She’s absolutely out there leading from the front.’
Of course, Buckingham Palace isn’t blinkered. Senior courtiers know full well that there will always be a vocal – and not necessarily small – group of people who will never accept Camilla on the throne (despite more than 2,000 genuinely excited people coming out to see her in Shrewsbury on a very wet, working Wednesday this week). But they also believe there is no point in wasting energy trying to convert the naysayers, and should let the Queen’s actions speak louder than their outdated murmurs of disapproval.
“Senior courtiers know full well that there will always be a vocal – and not necessarily small – group of people who will never accept Camilla on the throne.” On the contrary, the monarchy’s biggest critics love the fact that Camilla got everything she wanted – Camilla’s game of thrones has left the monarchy weakened and historically unpopular. Camilla’s success in the royal arena showcases the absurdity of the arena itself. Long live Camilla, may she continue to be the monarchy’s downfall.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.