In the unprecedented times that mark the modern day British royal family, no one could have ever predicted the landscape that is currently before us: King Charles, the Princess of Wales, and the Duchess of York all battling cancer; the Duke and Duchess of Sussex living an ocean away in the United States; and Queen Camilla the stable and steady anchor who, alongside Prince William, Princess Anne, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, is holding it all together during the tumult.
Once considered perhaps the most reviled woman in the U.K., if someone had said 30 years ago that the former Camilla Parker-Bowles would not only be married to Charles but referred to as Queen and considered one of the hardest-working members of the royal family—well, there would be many, many speechless people. But it’s true, and Camilla is meeting the moment with her trademarked work ethic, grace, dignity, consistency, stability, and sense of humor and—who knew?—was apparently exactly what the monarchy needed all along, and especially so in times such as these.
William once had a strained relationship with his stepmother for obvious reasons—Camilla was “the other woman” in the marriage between then Prince Charles and Princess Diana, William’s parents. Though Camilla can’t take all of the blame for the collapse of Charles and Diana’s marriage, she certainly can take a fair share of it, and while stepparent to stepchild relationships are hard anyway—just ask Gwyneth Paltrow—this one was especially so. Not so anymore, The Mirror reports; the outlet said that William has a renewed appreciation for his stepmother as he “can see Queen Camilla is exactly what [the] royal family needs right now,” the outlet writes.
“Camilla is as stoic as she is forgiving,” royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward said. “Kate’s illness has brought her closer to William, who once disliked her intensely. Even up to her marriage to his father, both William and [Prince] Harry begged ‘Pa’ not to marry Camilla. Thank goodness he did.”
Seward added “Her cheerfulness and her open-hearted approach to people and events are exactly what the monarchy needs right now. William can see that, and he must be very grateful to her. Not only is she keen on keeping his father calm, but she is, in her way, keeping the country calm, too. Always smiling and giving a cheery report on the progress of Charles and her stepdaughter-in-law [Kate]. She is exactly what we all need right now.”
Tatler reports that Camilla is “proud” to shoulder royal duties in the absence of Charles and Kate, and a royal source told The Telegraph that “Queen Camilla is proud, resilient, and devoted, and if it serves the King and the nation to step up and serve the nation, she will do it.”
She will do so this Thursday as she makes history as the first-ever consort to distribute Maundy money on behalf of a monarch when she attends the annual Royal Maundy Service without the King.
