For decades, Camilla was branded a wicked stepmother and evil home wrecker by ravenous tabloids snapped up by a public grieving the broken home of their royal family. To be coronated as Queen alongside King Charles III and their blended family, with the former monarch's blessing, shows times certainly have changed.
When the coronation of Charles and Camilla takes place in just two weeks' time, the pair will do away with a number of traditions in favour of putting family at the forefront of the millennium-old ceremony.
Seventy years ago, a 4-year-old Charles was present at his mother's coronation, however he did not play an official role, and instead watched the ceremony alongside the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
This time around, King Charles and Camilla's grown-up children and young grandchildren will be in attendance, with youngsters from each side of the family playing a role in the ceremony.
Camilla's biological grandchildren from her marriage before King Charles, of which she has five, will be involved in their grandmother's coronation.
The three 13-year-old boys, Freddy and twins Louis and Gus, are set to be pages of honour. That role involves carrying the train of their grandmother's ceremonial robe in the official procession through Westminster Abbey.
They will then be joined by 15-year-olds Lola and Eliza to carry the coronation canopy and hold it over Camilla as she is anointed with holy oil.
While it's usual for pages to be young members of families from the senior royal household, the nobility and gentry, traditionally the canopy task is reserved for duchesses.
The canopy hides the anointing from view, revered as the most sacred element of the ceremony.
It was famously the only part of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation that was not televised, on the late monarch's request.
Second-in-line to the throne, 9-year-old Prince George will be among his grandfather's pages of honour. He will be joined by three other young boys with significant ties to the royal family.
"We're all very excited about Prince George's role in the Coronation, it will be an incredibly special moment," a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
As the heir to the throne, Prince William will be required to pledge his allegiance to King Charles. Following tradition, he will kneel, pledge his allegiance by touching the St Edward's Crown and giving his father a kiss on the cheek.
Princess Catherine, as the next in line for Queen Consort, will take part in the official procession, and will be corralling all three of her children through it, though Prince George is expected to be separate from the rest of his family as he walks with the other pages of honour.
The family of five are likely to join King Charles and Camilla on the balcony at Buckingham Palace following the coronation.
As a non-working royal, Prince Harry will be present at the coronation as an attendee, rather than with a role to play. It's very unlikely he will be present on the balcony.
His wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is remaining in California with their two children Archie and Lilibet.
It is yet to be confirmed whether any members from Camilla's side of the family will be on the balcony, however, it is expected not to be the case as, like Prince Harry, they are also not working royals.
This was a precedent enforced during the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 when the late Queen Elizabeth ruled that only working members would appear on the balcony, ruling out Prince Harry and Meghan who had travelled from the US for the event.
Balancing participation with privacy
Parents on both sides of the family, the Prince and Princess of Wales and Camilla's children, have reportedly been cautious about the young ones being thrust into the limelight.
Eliza, daughter of Camilla's second-born Laura, has already had a small taste of royal fanfare, having been a bridesmaid at Prince William and Princess Catherine's wedding in 2011.
Both Laura and her brother Tom were invited to stepbrother Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018, and the whole family was present at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Otherwise, Camilla's side of the family has largely been shielded from public view, a policy Camilla's children are very passionate about and is respected by the monarchs.
This is expected to continue for the most part. Despite Camilla's ascension to Queen, as the Parker-Bowles families are related to the royal family by marriage and not blood, they do not receive royal titles, and will not be representing the Crown in any official capacity.
Statements from Buckingham Palace have celebrated the upcoming coronation as reflective of "the monarch's role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry".
"It's a lovely idea to involve their own family members in these roles, rather than having aristocrats' sons and daughters doing it," royal historian Hugo Vickers told The Times.
"It is all part of the inclusivity of the family and strengthens their bonds.
"Bringing George in also sends all the right symbolism for the future and gives him something he will always remember."
Royal 'bonus' families
The inclusion of youngsters from both sides of the family is designed to send a strong message that Charles and Camilla are a couple who reflect the realities of modern life.
But they are not the only ones in the royal household championing blended families.
Princess Beatrice has previously spoken of her joy over her "bonus son", stepson Christopher Woolf Mapelli Mozzi, after her marriage to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Reflecting on homeschooling during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Princess Beatrice told HELLO! Magazine she was grateful for the time she spent with her stepson.
"Homeschooling, that was definitely not my forte … But I've felt very lucky to have had the chance to work with my bonus son over the course of the school closures. It was a huge learning curve for all of us."
By all accounts, King Charles and Camilla are very doting grandparents to their blended family.
King Charles read the Harry Potter series to the grandchildren on Camilla's side when they were younger, and in more recent years, they introduced their grandmother to social media such as TikTok (though Camilla was less than enthused about the controversial video-sharing app).
In a documentary about Camilla aired in 2018, her nephew Ben Elliot said she was "magnificent" with her grandchildren.
Speaking in the documentary, Camilla described being a grandparent as "wonderful".
"You can give them a wonderful time, spoil them, give them all the things their parents won't allow them to have and give them back again."
