Camilla's private country home she sneaks to without Charles to watch Corrie
At an age where she should typically be enjoying a well-earned retirement, Queen Camilla has had one of the busiest years of her life after a changeover in reigns and a step-up in her constitutional duties.
As Her Majesty marks her 76th birthday today, she is showing no signs of slowing down - but what does she like to do during her free time? While the Royal Family has an impressive portfolio of official residences around the country, the Queen has kept up her private home in Wiltshire which she bought after her divorce from Andrew Parker-Bowles in 1994.
It is well-known for being the Queen’s favourite place to hide away during her down time as she can escape the goldfish bowl of royal life and be with her grandchildren. Last year it also served as the backdrop for the portraits taken of Camilla by the Princess of Wales to celebrate her 75th birthday.
Queen Camilla is celebrating her 76th birthday (Getty)The Queen purchased Ray Mill in Wiltshire for £850,000 after divorcing her first husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, and lived there permanently from 1996 to 2003. It is also located just 15 minutes from King Charles' beloved home Highgrove.
The house has many incredible features, including an outdoor swimming pool, terrace, stables for her horses, large gardens and a river. Camilla's daughter, Laura Lopes, decided to host her wedding reception at her mother's house when she married Harry Lopes in 2006.
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The house is known for being her own private space, with a source once telling the Express: "At Ray Mill she can sit down with a big G&T, kick off her shoes and watch Coronation Street, which Charles loathes.
"She also doesn’t have to bother about how the place looks – Charles is so fussy about tidiness, while she leaves her stuff all over the place. She doesn’t need her cushions plumped all the time."
Camilla's Ray Mill House in Wiltshire (REX/Shutterstock)This is not the first account about the Queen’s messy habits that have been reported as her close friend and former roommate Virgina Carrington revealed that her bedroom frequently looked as if a bomb had hit it.
Following her return from the Mon Fertile finishing school at the age of 17, the-then Camilla Shand rented a two-bedroom flat in Belgravia with her friend Virginia who was the daughter of former Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington.
Virginia has previously spoken about the time she spent living with the Queen in author Jessica Jayne's book 'The Duchess Of Cornwall: Camilla's Story And Secrets'.
She recalled: "On coming home, she would just drop her clothes on the floor and leave them. Camilla's bedroom always looked like a bomb had hit it." Author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth also described the scene: "Virginia was fairly tidy and organised and Camilla drove her nuts, in the nicest possible way."
He added: "Virginia once told me: 'You know, Camilla has this inability to hang anything up on a hanger. And she has an aversion to cleaning fluids of any description. You should see the state of the bathroom when she's been in it'."
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