Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

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"The Duchess of Cornwall" and "The Duchess of Rothesay" redirect here. For other people known by those titles, see Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Rothesay.
Camilla
Duchess of Cornwall; Duchess of Rothesay (more)
Duchess of Cornwall 2012.JPG
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". The secondary titles were used because of the strong association of the primary title with her husband's first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Camilla is the eldest child of Major Bruce Shand and his wife The Honourable Rosalind Cubitt, daughter of British aristocrat the 3rd Baron Ashcombe. She was raised in East Sussex, a county in South East England, and was educated in England, Switzerland and France. In 1973, she married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she has two children and five grandchildren. They divorced in 1995, the year after his retirement from the army.

For many years, Camilla and the Prince of Wales had a controversial romantic relationship, which was highly publicised in the media.[2] In 2005, it culminated in a civil marriage at Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised Anglican blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. If the Prince of Wales ascends the throne, rather than be styled as a queen, Camilla is expected to adopt the title "Princess Consort", which is similar to the style of Prince Albert.

Contents

Early life[edit]

Childhood and adolescence[edit]

Camilla was born Camilla Rosemary Shand at King's College Hospital, London, on 17 July 1947.[fn 2][1] She grew up in the Laines, which is located around Lewes in East Sussex. The house she lived in was nearby Plumpton Racecourse.[3] Her parents were British Army officer Major Bruce Shand and his wife Rosalind (née Cubitt). Mark Shand and Annabel Elliot are her younger siblings. Her maternal great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, (the Honourable Mrs George Keppel) was the daughter of Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet. Alice was a mistress of King Edward VII from 1898 to 1910.[4] 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.[5][6] The Shands had two homes, one in Plumpton in the Laines and another in London in South Kensington. She grew up with dogs and cats.[7] At a young age, she learned how to ride a pony by joining pony camps with a pony club. She also learned to hunt. She is quoted as saying her childhood, "was perfect in every way."[3]

Biographer Gyles Brandreth describes her childhood:[7]

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.

At the age of five, Camilla was sent to Dumbrells, a co-educational school in Ditchling village.[7] At the age of ten years old in 1957, she left Dumbrells to attend fashionable Queen's Gate School in South Kensington due to the long distance from her home to Dumbrells. Her family wanted her be at a day student and Queen's Gate School was close to her home.[8] Her classmates while attending Queen's Gate knew her as "Milla". One of her classmates was singer Twinkle. One of the teachers at the school was writer Penelope Fitzgerald, who was then a French teacher. She remembered Camilla as "bright and lively". Camilla left Queen's Gate with one O-level in 1964. Her parents did not make her stay long enough for A levels.[9] At the age of sixteen, she traveled abroad to attend the Mon Fertile finishing school in Switzerland.[10] After completing her course there, she made her own decision and traveled to France to learn about Fine art and French works at the University of London Institute in Paris.[11]

On 25 March 1965, Camilla was a debutante in London.[4] According to Peter Townend, an editor of Tatler magazine, she was among 311 debutantes in 1965. A columnist Betty Kenward, who wrote in her column, Jennifer's Diary, published her coming-out party in the Queen magazine.[12] The party took place at a Georgian house. 150 guests attended the event, which was described by Kenward as "successful".[13] After moving from home, Camilla lived in a two-bedroom flat at Belgravia on Cundy Street around Victoria Coach Station. She and Moyra Campbell, the daughter of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn shared the flat. At the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Moyra was a maid of honour. Lady Moyra moved out when she married. Camilla's new flatmate became The Hon. Virginia Carrington, daughter of politician and a former Officer, Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington.[14] Virginia later married Camilla's uncle, Henry Cubitt, 4th Baron Ashcombe in 1973. The couple divorced in 1979.[15] Camilla later worked as a secretary in the West End and then took a job at the decorating firm of Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler.[16] She also became an avid equestrienne and participated in fox hunting (with the Beaufort Hunt)[17] until hunting with hounds was banned in 2004. Among her interests are horse-riding, gardening and horticulture.[18]

First marriage[edit]

In the late 1960s, Camilla met Andrew Parker Bowles, then a Guards officer and lieutenant in the Blues and Royals.[19] She met him through his brother, Simon Parker Bowles. Simon at the time worked for her father's wine merchant in South Audley Street.[20] The pair dated on and off 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.[21] They married on 4 July 1973. She was twenty-six years old while Parker Bowles was thirty-four. Her wedding dress was designed by British fashion house Bellville Sassoon. The wedding took place at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, London.[22] Their bridesmaids included Parker Bowles' goddaughter Lady Emma Herbert.[23] There were eight hundred guests at the wedding. The reception took place around Green Park, which is located at St. James's Palace. Royal guests who attended were Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. It is claimed that Prince Charles was invited, but did not attend, due to another commitment which occurred on the same day as the wedding.[22]

Bolehyde Manor

The couple made their home in Wiltshire and purchased the half thirteenth century and seventeenth century manor house Bolehyde Manor which is located at Allington, beside Chippenham.[24] They had two children: Tom, born in the year after their marriage, who became a godson of Prince Charles, and Laura, born in 1978; 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.[19]

In 1995, after 22 years of marriage, Camilla and her husband decided to divorce, the same year her mother, Rosalind, died from osteoporosis. Her father later defined this as a "difficult time for her". 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.[25] However, it was believed one of the reasons was the Prince of Wales's public revelation of his relationship with Camilla was a major factor in their decision. The divorce was finalized on 3 March 1995.[26]

Relationship with the Prince of Wales[edit]

Camilla and Prince Charles reportedly met in mid-1971. Biographer Gyles Brandreth states that the couple did not meet at a polo match, as it is believed.[27] Instead, they were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz.[28][29] They became friends and eventually began dating, which was well known in their social circle. When they became a couple, they regularly met at polo matches at Smith's Lawn in Windsor Great Park, where Charles often played polo. They also became part of a set at Annabel's in Berkeley Square.[30] The relationship was put on hold after Charles travelled overseas to join the Royal Navy in early 1973; it officially ended after Camilla married her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles in July 1973.[31]

The Royal Family of the
United Kingdom and the
other Commonwealth realms
Badge of the House of Windsor.svg

HM The Queen
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

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. Sarah Bradford wrote in her 2007 book, Diana, that a member of the close circle of his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten claimed Mountbatten arranged for Charles to be taken overseas to end the relationship with Camilla to make way for an engagement between his granddaughter, Amanda Knatchbull and Charles.[32] 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 on and off relationship with Parker Bowles that began in the 1960s[33] or that Charles had decided he would not marry until he was thirty years old.[34]

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."[35]

When Charles heard of the engagement of Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, he wrote to Lord Mountbatten: "I suppose the feeling of emptiness will pass eventually."[36] 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.[37] Charles and Camilla renewed their romantic relationship in 1979. They became close after the IRA assassinated Lord Mountbatten in August 1979.[38] Charles was said to have been grief-stricken and went to Camilla for solace over his death.[39] Aware of the renewal, Parker Bowles allegedly gave consent to the relationship during their marriage.[40] It did not bother him because he also had relationships with other women.[41] The couple ended their relationship again after Charles married Diana Spencer in 1981.[42]

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.[43] The tapes instantly damaged Charles's reputation. Newspapers began publishing articles on how the tapes could affect his succession to the throne.[44] Camilla on the other hand was constantly attacked in the press, a friend was quoted as saying "it was hell for her."[45] Nevertheless, she and her husband stayed together. Parker Bowles later released a statement assuring family and friends that everything was well between them. 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."[46]

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.[47][48] He told Dimbleby in the interview, "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."[49] Following this, the Parker Bowleses announced their own divorce the following year, having been living apart for some time,[49] 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."[50] Though Camilla kept a low profile at all times, she became unpopular through this revelation.[51]

Image rehabilitation[edit]

Following the couples' divorces, Charles stated his relationship with Camilla was, and is, "non-negotiable."[52][53][54]

Charles was aware that the relationship was receiving a lot of negative publicity, and appointed Mark Bolland, employed by Charles in 1995 to refurbish his own image, to enhance Camilla's image.[55] 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. There were about 200 cameramen there to see them together. 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.[56] In 2000, her status was strengthened when she went with the Prince of Wales to Scotland for a number of official engagements.[56] 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.[57][58]

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.[59] 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".[60][61] At almost all private occasions, she accompanied the Prince of Wales. She also attended the Holyrood House garden party and Sandringham House flower show.[56] 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.[62] 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:[63]

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.

Throughout, the press speculated on when they would announce their engagement.[64] On 10 February 2005, Clarence House announced their engagement.[65] Many polls immediately came out. YouGov carried out one on how the public felt; 65 percent of respondents supported their marriage, in contrast to 40 percent respondents in 1998.[66]

Second marriage[edit]

Engagement and wedding[edit]

Further information: Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles and Wedding dress of Camilla Parker Bowles

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.[67] 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.[68] 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.[69] 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.[70][71]

Charles's parents did not attend the marriage ceremony (possibly because the Queen felt unable to attend the remarriage of a divorcee, due to her position as Supreme Governor of the Church of England)[72] neither did Camilla's father; instead Camilla's son and Prince William acted as witnesses to the union.[73] The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh did, however, attend the service of blessing, which included acknowledgment of their transgressions and repentance.[74] Afterwards, a reception was held by the Queen for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle.[75] Performances at the wedding included the St George's Chapel Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra and Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott.[76] As a wedding gift, The Marinsky Theatre Trust brought a Russian Contralto singer, Ekaterina Semenchuk to the U.K to perform a special song for the couple.[77] Following the wedding, the couple travelled to the Prince's country home in Scotland, Birkhall,[78] and carried out their first public duties as a couple during their honeymoon.[79]

On Charles and Camilla's seventh wedding anniversary, the Queen appointed Camilla to the Royal Victorian Order.[80]

Duchess of Cornwall[edit]

After becoming Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla automatically acquired rank as the second highest female in the United Kingdom Order of Precedence (after the Queen), and as typically fifth or sixth in the orders of precedence of her other 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.[81][82] 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[83] and the badge of the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.[84]

Though no details were publicly released, it was confirmed in March 2007 that the Duchess had undergone a hysterectomy.[85] 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".[86] On 8 April 2010, the Duchess broke her left leg while hill walking in Scotland.[87] Despite the injury, she carried out all her official engagements which were scheduled for that month.[88]

In November 2010, the Duchess and her husband were indirectly involved in the 2010 British student protests when their car was attacked by protesters.[89] She was physically attacked when a rioter managed to push a stick into the royal limousine and jab her in the ribs.[90][91] 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."[92] 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.[93]

Royal duties[edit]

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

Camilla's royal duties involve 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.[94] During their tour in the United States, they met with 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 with a few of the hundreds of thousands of residents whose lives were turned upside-down by the Hurricane.[95] Following the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the Duchess and the Prince visited victims of the attack at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington. In March 2006, the couple undertook official visits to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India.[96]

In November 2007, the Duchess toured with the Prince of Wales on a four-day visit to Turkey.[97] In 2008, she joined the Prince of Wales to tour the Caribbean, Japan, Brunei and Indonesia.[98] 2009 was a busy year for Camilla. With the Prince of Wales they embarked on a tour of Chile, Brazil, Ecuador,[99] Italy and Germany. Their visit to the Holy See included a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI.[100] The Pope presented them with an honorary medal and drawing of the St Peter's Basilica.[101] In November 2009, they visited Canada. In early 2010, they undertook an official visit to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland.[102] In October 2010, Camilla accompanied the Prince of Wales to Delhi, India for the opening of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[103]

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 for Wales), 7 June 2011.

In March 2011, the Duchess went with the Prince of Wales to undertake official visits in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.[104] The tour began in Lisbon, Portugal, where among other engagements Prince Charles 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, who received them for a meeting and an official dinner.[105] 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.[106] In August 2011, the Duchess accompanied the Prince of Wales to Tottenham, breaking off their holidays to show solidarity with the deprived north London community scarred by violence in the riots.[107][108] The couple surprised Tottenham shoppers in February 2012 as they visited businesses targeted in August's Riots to see how they were recovering on the London-riots anniversary.[109] In November 2011, Camilla undertook official visits with the Prince of Wales to tour Commonwealth and Arab States of the Persian Gulf. They toured in South Africa and Tanzania and met with President Jacob Zuma and President Jakaya Kikwete.[110]

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 the Prince undertook official visits to Norway, Sweden and Denmark to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[111] 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.[112] 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.[113] During the Australian tour, they attended the 2012 Melbourne Cup, where the Duchess presented the Melbourne cup to the winner of the race.[114]

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,[115] 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.[116] In June 2011, Camilla alone represented the British royal family at the 125th Wimbledon Tennis Championships in Wimbledon.[117] In 2013, she attended the State Opening of Parliament for the first time.[118] That same year, she attended the Enthronement of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands,[119] as well as the preceding celebrations in honour of Queen Beatrix.[120]

Patronages and charity work[edit]

The Duchess is the Patron of The Royal School, Hampstead, an independent girls' school,[121] Patron of Animal Care Trust (Under the umbrella of the Royal Veterinary College),[122] Patron of The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists,[123] Patron of Unicorn Theatre for Children, Patron of Cornwall Community Foundation, Patron of Wiltshire Bobby van Trust, Patron of Youth Action Wiltshire, Patron of New Queen's Hall Orchestra, Patron of St John's Smith Square, Patron of London Chamber Orchestra, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Plumpton College Charitable Foundation, Elmhurst School for Dance, Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, the Girl's Brigade in Scotland, St John's Hospital, London Chamber Orchestra, the Fan Museum, Patron of Georgian Theatre Royal, Patron of the Cornish Air Ambulance Service, Patron of The Girls' Friendly Society, Patron of the National Literacy Trust, Patron of Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Patron of Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Patron of Plumpton College Charitable Foundation, as well as President or Patron of other charities. Richmond (a Joint Patron with the Prince of Wales), President of Scotland's Gardens Scheme, the United Kingdom Vineyards Association President of National Osteoporosis Society (the first charity with which she was officially associated), as well as president or patron of other charities.[122]

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.[124] In March 2012, the Duchess became the Patron of the Big Jubilee Lunch (BJL), in which communities across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms held lunches including street parties, garden gatherings and picnics on 3 June 2012, as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.[125] In February 2013, she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, a role which is ceremonial and will involve conferring graduates with their degrees [126] and took up the office in June 2013. [127] She is the first female chancellor of the University of Aberdeen.[128]

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 centre in Croydon and often visits other centres to meet with victims getting help.[129]

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[130]

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.[130]

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.[130] Unless any specific Act of Parliament is passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom (and other Commonwealth states) to the contrary, if Prince Charles becomes king, she can assume by courtesy the style of "Queen Camilla".[131][132] However, Clarence House stated[133] 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]

Medals[edit]

Honorary military appointments[edit]

General Sir John McColl, Lieutenant Governor of Jersey with the Duchess of Cornwall in 2012

The Duchess of Cornwall holds the following military appointments:

Australia Australia
Canada Canada
United Kingdom United Kingdom
  • United Kingdom: Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion of The Rifles
  • United Kingdom 2008–: Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton
  • United Kingdom: Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Leeming
  • United Kingdom: Commodore-in-Chief of the Naval Medical Services
  • United Kingdom: Commodore-in-Chief Naval Chaplaincy Service
  • United Kingdom: Lady sponsor of HMS Astute[138]

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.[139] 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.[140]
Coat of Arms of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.svg
Adopted
17 July 2005
Coronet
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.[140]
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.[140]
Orders
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]

Name Birth Marriage Issue
Tom Parker Bowles 18 December 1974 10 September 2005 Sara Buys Lola Rosalind Parker Bowles
Freddy Parker Bowles
Laura Parker Bowles 1 January 1978 6 May 2006 Harry Lopes Eliza Lopes
Louis Lopes
Gus Lopes

Ancestry[edit]

According to genealogist William Addams Reitwiesner, the Duchess of Cornwall's ancestry is predominantly French, English, Dutch, and Scottish.[141]

Camilla is descended from Arnold Joost van Keppel, who was created the Earl of Albemarle by King William III of England in 1696.[142] His son, Willem van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, married Lady Anne Lennox, who was the daughter of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, illegitimate son of King Charles II. Through Anne Lennox, her bloodline is descended from the House of Stuart.[143] Her great-grandfather, Viscount Bury, was an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria and among her Treasurer household.[144] Through her great-great-grandfather George Cubitt, who was created the first Baron Ashcombe, she is descended from Thomas Cubitt, a well-known architect during the Victorian era. Cubitt built Queen Victoria's home, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, and help change and repair Buckingham Palace.[145] He was the father of the Baron.[146] 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.[141]

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. Their son, George, was the husband of Alice Edmonstone, who was a mistress of King Edward VII, the great-great-grandfather of Prince Charles.[147] 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.[148][149] She is also a descendant of French colonist Zacharie Cloutier, who founded one of the principal families of Quebec City.[150]

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 with her birth place.

References[edit]

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  6. ^ The Times, 5 August 1942.
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