After Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, Queen Camilla had to temporarily suspend her very obvious “Camilla is the last one standing, she’s ruling this bitch all by herself” campaign. She gave it two weeks, and now she’s ready to relaunch the same campaign. “Sources close to Camilla” went to Camilla Tominey at the Telegraph to talk about how Camilla is doing these days, how she’s amazing for doing events while her husband has cancer, and how Camilla surrounds herself with loyal friends. The stuff about Camilla’s inner circle isn’t that surprising – Camilla is well-connected in aristo circles and has been all of her life, and these were the same women who helped her gaslight Diana and destroy Charles’s first marriage. At the end of this piece, there’s yet another hilarious aside about Camilla’s relationship with her ex-husband though. Some highlights:
Camilla spent Valentine’s Day with friends: It was an intimate Valentine’s Day gathering of some of the Queen’s close confidantes. Organised by her friend Gyles Brandreth, the evening saw Camilla finally let her hair down after what has been a fraught fortnight behind palace walls. Joined by her sister Annabel Elliot and pals including Dame Judi Dench, Dame Joanna Lumley and Sir Stephen Fry, the ‘Celebration of Shakespeare’ event was designed to bring some welcome cheer following the King’s cancer diagnosis. Although the monarch, 75, was originally expected to attend, after another round of treatment in London on Wednesday, he left his wife to enjoy an evening of performances by stars of stage and screen. Ever the King’s “rock”, Camilla once again put best foot forward to honour the commitment, in the interests of crown and country.
Camilla’s kept the show on the road: If the shock news of her husband’s condition has been taking its toll on the Queen, then she certainly hasn’t been showing it as she continues to live up to her reputation as someone who “gets on with it”. Even a whistlestop visit by Prince Harry, who described her as his “wicked” stepmother in his autobiography Spare, wasn’t enough to put her off her stride. As one source close to the couple pointed out: “It has been pretty phenomenal how the Queen has kept the show on the road.”
Camilla IS the slimmed-down monarchy: Referencing the royal engagements she has carried out since Buckingham Palace announced the news on Feb 5, the insider added: “She has undertaken a range of duties, both big and small, including a visit to the Maggie’s Centre at the end of last month when she knew the King’s condition but couldn’t share it. What a trouper she is at 76 with a poorly husband.” Ailsa Anderson, the former press secretary to the late Queen Elizabeth II said perhaps not enough credit is given to Camilla for being front and centre of the King’s “slimmed down” monarchy. “People forget that she hasn’t been brought up to do this role. The King and Prince William know their destiny but she’s relatively a newcomer to the Royal family. She’s a grandmother, but she’s a wife as well – she’s got to support her husband. Anyone who knows someone who has had cancer knows how hard it is for the spouse.”
Camilla still gets so much support from her ex-husband: There is one more person in her life upon whom she is increasingly reliant – her ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles. Some were surprised to see the former Army officer, 84, at the Coronation but they remain in “regular contact”, according to someone who knows them both well. As one friend previously explained: “He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.” Known as “The Bridgadier”, Andrew is thought to have become closer to Camilla, who he divorced in 1995, following the death of his second wife Rosemary Pitman, in 2010 – although they were never on bad terms, as evidenced by Parker Bowles’s invitation to the royal wedding in 2005. The former military man is bringing up the rear of a formidable army of supporters ensuring that Camilla can keep calm and carry on while the King fights his cancer battle.
We’ve heard many times before that Camilla enjoys a warm relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles, but I still find it weird that he “arranges so much for her.” Previously, we heard that they were still “joined at the hip” – that was when we learned that he would attend the coronation, a coronation which was very much Camilla’s victory lap and a total Parker-Bowles affair. I mean, what can we even say at this point? Camilla, as always, runs circles around the royal clownshow and she positioned herself to have so much power over everything that happens. What’s happening now, with Camilla’s PR campaign during her husband’s cancer treatments, is part of her victory lap too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.