31 January 2024 , 20:35
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She was once dubbed the most hated woman in Britain, so loathed she was said to have been pelted with bread rolls outside her local supermarket.
At best, Camilla was one of the world’s famous mistresses. Even the Queen once referred to her as “that wicked woman” and that she “wanted nothing to do with her”. Which makes her transformation to our Queen Camilla - Charles’s “darling wife, who with health problems affecting the rest of her family is now stepping up to be the public face of the monarchy - all the more remarkable.
In fact the woman once seen as a national pariah is now well on the way to becoming a national treasure. That’s taken resilience, a lot of patience and a very thick skin... as well as a deliberate public relations strategy.
Marc Boland, a Canadian public relations guru who was Charles’ deputy private secretary from 1997 to 2002, is widely considered to be the brains behind her ‘reputation management’ in the early years of her transformation.
Despite the unprecedented vitriol being directed at her after Princess Diana’s death, he is believed to have advised her to quietly carry on, avoiding the limelight and saying little if anything publicly, while engaging in charitable endeavours that no-one would be able to criticise her for.
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With Charles' medical problems, Camilla has stepped up to represent the family (WireImage)Nor could they accuse her of Marie Antoinette-esque extravagances. With her sensible, understated wardrobe, often with the endearing common touch - the scruffy old pumps seen under her dresses, the safety pin she used to hold up her cords when the zip broke - gradually people’s minds changed about her.
Then there were the trickle of stories about her wry sense of humour, her no-nonsense attitude and stoicism, all of which slowly chipped away at the public’s hardened view of the woman who broke Diana’s heart.
Perhaps most importantly, she managed to win over her mother-in-law. When during her Diamond Jubilee in 2022, Queen Elizabeth - by then a widower - had to choose who to ride with her on her open carriage ride though the streets of London, she chose Camilla.
And when she said in a message to the nation that it was her “sincere wish” that she be known as Queen Consort when the time comes, this time there were few voices of dissent. Tina Brown, author of The Palace Papers, believes the Queen went through the same gradual process towards acceptance and admiration of Camilla as the rest of us.
She said that after marrying Charles she fitted into her royal role “with the kind of ease that I haven’t really seen since the Queen Mother, actually. “Camilla is a naturally charming and warm and stoic person, which are qualities which you need if you’re going to be in that quite frustrating role.
“And that’s really what the Queen was recognising when she said that she could be Queen. She saw that Camilla had been absolutely supportive and loyal during her marriage to Charles, and that she has done every royal duty she’s been required to do with grace and charm.”