Who is Camilla Parker Bowles? Learn about her royal duties, passion projects and the bumpy road from controversy to queen.
Who Is Camilla Parker Bowles? 19 Facts About England’s Queen
Updated on Apr. 29, 2025
Getting to know Queen Camilla
A lot has changed for the royal family since Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022. Two of the biggest changes? Charles is now king, and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, formerly the Duchess of Cornwall, is now queen—a title that was not guaranteed to her. But who is Camilla Parker Bowles?
She was first thrust into the spotlight as “the other woman” when Charles and Princess Diana were still married. “Diana was extremely popular with the British people, and dubbed the ‘People’s Princess’ when she tragically died so young,” says Carol Ann Lloyd, a British historian and author who frequently speaks about the British royal family at the Smithsonian. “Camilla had the misfortune of being blamed for the very public breakdown of the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.”
But Camilla’s commitment to Charles, as well as her royal duties and philanthropic efforts, have revealed a depth of character and layers to her personality that the royal scandal previously overshadowed. “Her image didn’t improve overnight,” says Nikki Jain, a media commentator on royal affairs and the CEO of The Sprout PR. “It took years of work and dedication.”
Reader’s Digest put together this deep dive into Camilla’s life before royalty and the transformation of her public image, with the help of Lloyd, Jain and royal historian Marlene Koenig. The three also share insight on Queen Camilla’s charitable initiatives, personal passions and duties as queen. Keep reading to learn more.
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She’s very laid-back—even untidy!
Though she’s now queen, Camilla is a down-to-earth country girl at heart. That genuine, authentic demeanor, the one Charles fell in love with, has helped improve her relationship with the British public.
Although she was born into an upper-class family, Camilla never puts on airs. “I have so many friends who, if I ever even vaguely look like I’m getting uppity, which, touch wood, I never have, they would just say, ‘Look, come on, pull yourself together! Don’t be so bloody grand!'” she said in a rare interview with the Daily Mail’s You magazine. A former flatmate of the queen even told Vanity Fair that Camilla kept her bedroom in a state of chaos.
Her engagement ring has historical significance
Camilla’s engagement ring, a stunning five-carat emerald-cut diamond surrounded by three diamond baguettes, once belonged to Charles’s grandmother, aka the Queen Mother. (She also wears a simple gold band.) Another piece of royal jewelry Camilla likes to wear is the Greville Tiara, also passed down from Charles’s grandmother.
She has had many titles—and her own royal connection
“Many aspects of Queen Camilla’s life are not known to the public,” Jain says. “She originally comes from an aristocratic lineage, but her great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was a mistress to King Edward VII.” So Camilla was actually connected to the royal family before she married Charles. And yes, that means Charles and Camilla, like many royal couples before them, are (distantly) related!
As for her titles, those haven’t quite followed royal tradition. “When she married [Charles] in 2005, tradition would dictate Camilla would take the title Princess of Wales, especially as Diana had died several years before,” says Lloyd. But out of respect for Diana, “Camilla did not take the title, and was known as Duchess of Cornwall until she became queen” after Elizabeth’s death. And that title change came with Elizabeth’s blessing, Lloyd says: “Queen Elizabeth II settled any speculation about Camilla’s title when Charles became king, when she indicated her desire that Camilla be queen consort.”
Before her death, the queen also granted Camilla a Royal Coat of Arms. And, in 2012, Camilla was made a Grand Dame Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. In 2016, she became a member of the Privy Council. When in Scotland, Camilla was known as the Duchess of Rothesay. She also had two Foreign Orders: Order of the Star of Melanesia (Papua New Guinea) 2012 and the Grand-Croix, Ordre Nationale du Mérite (France) 2014.
With all those titles, perhaps it’s best to simply stick to “Queen Camilla”!
She loves dogs
Just like Elizabeth and her corgis, Camilla adores dogs. “She’s a huge animal lover, especially dogs,” Koenig says. “She publicly announces when she adopts, and that the dogs came from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.” Back in 2011, she adopted her first rescue, a Jack Russell Terrier puppy named Beth. To keep Beth company, Camilla adopted another dog in 2012, also a Jack Russell, named Bluebell, though Beth has since passed.
Camilla is also a patron of the Medical Detection Dogs charity and has watched the dogs give demonstrations sniffing out various diseases. In February of 2019, she visited the canines and their trainers and helped to open their new facility.
She does a lot of charity work
On top of being a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and step-grandmother, Camilla regularly contributes to charity. Since marrying Charles in 2005, she has become a patron or president of more than 90 charities. In addition to inheriting some from Queen Elizabeth, including children’s charity Barnardo’s, the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and the Royal School of Needlework, she has pursued plenty on her own.
“Queen Camilla’s personal experiences are the reason behind her interest in generous donations and kind projects,” Jain says. “For example, after seeing her mother and grandmother struggle with osteoporosis, she led an awareness campaign for the condition for years. As the president of the Royal Osteoporosis Society since 2001, she has successfully raised both funds and awareness.”
Her compassion for a wide variety of causes has also helped improve her public image. “She built The Queen’s Reading Room to encourage reading in the younger generations, and she funds multiple projects to help survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence,” Jain says. “People [previously] saw Camilla as a challenging personality for the monarchy, but her decisions have changed the public view over the years. She is now seen as a caring person who truly wants to make a difference.”
She’s highly educated
The queen consort first attended school at Dumbrells School in Sussex. From there, she studied at Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington, then went on to attend Mon Fertile school in Switzerland and the Institut Britannique in Paris.
She’d rather be gardening
Who is Camilla Parker Bowles beyond her royal role? Although Camilla’s royal duties take up a fair amount of her time, she has personal hobbies too. Sometimes she escapes to her country retreat, Raymill, and she’s long loved outdoor activities like riding and hunting, as does her husband.
Did you ever imagine that digging in the dirt would be a favorite royal pastime? For Camilla, gardening is at the top of her list. “I’d be out in my garden all day, every day if I were allowed,” she once told reporters at an event for the British charity Floral Angels. “I love to get my hands dirty.”
She’s a talker
Camilla’s outgoing personality helps her succeed at royal life, even if she doesn’t crave the spotlight. The queen credits her parents for teaching her manners and how to engage with people, something she says makes royal duties easier. “I remember once there was a dinner party at home with some of the most boring neighbors in the world, and we were dragged down to join them for dinner,” she told the Daily Mail. “[My mother would] sit us down at the dinner table, and the minute there was silence, she used to say, ‘Talk! I don’t care what you talk about, talk about your budgie [parakeet] or your pony, but keep the conversation going.’ And so I’ve never been able not to talk. It’s in the psyche, not to leave a silence.”
She gets the giggles
Camilla’s sense of humor and sharp wit sometimes make it impossible to keep a straight face at the hundreds of engagements she attends every year, reports the Daily Mail. “You’ve got to laugh through most things, and sometimes I do laugh a bit too much,” she says. “There are situations where it’s very difficult not to lose it completely, especially, you know, if something goes terribly wrong and everybody sits there for a split second [not sure how to react]. You do have to swallow and pinch yourself very hard to not laugh.”
This is a trait she apparently shares with her daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle. At a May 2018 event, both women couldn’t hold in their laughter when a buzzing bee interrupted Prince Harry‘s speech. Camilla tries not to take herself too seriously: “You have to laugh at yourself because if you can’t, you may as well give up!” she says.
She’s afraid to fly and dislikes traveling
Although she has a packed schedule and plenty of opportunities to travel, homebody Camilla doesn’t actually like traveling. In fact, she has a fear of flying. Her phobia has kept her from traveling to several locations around Australia and the South Pacific with Charles (she did fly to Brisbane, Australia, for the Commonwealth Games, but opted out of the additional travel). According to the Daily Express, Camilla uses a tapping method called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to help her cope with the stress of flying.
She shares a birthday with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel
The birthday buddies were both born on July 17, seven years apart. For Camilla’s 70th birthday, she released an official portrait showing her relaxing in jeans in her garden, true to her easygoing style. The occasion was marked by a pair of parties, one for her staff and charities, and one for her family and friends.
She always wears the same Chanel shoes
Could it be the double “C” logo of Chanel, reminiscent of “Charles and Camilla,” that keeps her coming back to these cream pumps with black toes? (The logo is also reportedly why Princess Diana never wore much Chanel.) Trade mag Footwear News says Camilla has been wearing these classic shoes since at least 2005—and they’re no longer available for purchase.
She’s related to Madonna and Celine Dion
It seems her husband isn’t her only famous connection. Genealogical research has linked Queen Camilla with pop stars Madonna and Celine Dion, in addition to actress Angelina Jolie. They’re all believed to be descendants of the same French Canadian couple from the 17th century.
She and Charles were star-crossed
Although Camilla was considered “the other woman” when Charles and Diana were married, Camilla actually met him before he met Diana. Charles and Camilla were instantly attracted to each other, but the then-prince was just 22 years old and not ready for marriage. And, as Koenig explains, Camilla was not considered to be a suitable future queen because she already had a dating past. Charles headed off on a tour of duty with the Royal Navy, and by the time he returned, Camilla had accepted a proposal from someone else. She married Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973.
Camilla didn’t break up Charles’s marriage
Royal marriages are often arranged, and Charles’s first marriage was no exception. His father, Prince Philip, reportedly pressured him into proposing to Diana. When asked in a television interview if he and Diana were in love, Diana responded, “Of course,” but Charles cryptically added, “Whatever ‘in love’ means.” (Yikes.)
Despite Diana’s popularity with the public, she and Charles were mismatched. “On paper, Diana had all the right qualities,” Koenig says. “But having the right DNA does not mean a good marriage. Charles and Diana never dated, never truly got to know each other, and had little in common.” In contrast, “Camilla was the woman for Charles because she understood him and his role, supported him, and never sought the limelight,” Koenig adds.
It was only after both Charles’s and Camilla’s marriages ended, and after Diana’s tragic death in 1997, that Charles and Camilla were finally able to appear in public as a couple—though they were not initially well-received by the public. Koenig says this was a difficult time for Camilla, especially after the infamous phone-hacking scandal that exposed private conversations between Charles and Camilla.
“Charles and Camilla appeared together for the first time in January 1999, at the Ritz Hotel,” Koenig says. “Both were divorced, and both suffered from bad press and low ratings in polls.” But Charles was determined to marry the love of his life. “It took time to get support from the royal family and ease Camilla into public life.”
Charles is Camilla’s son’s godfather
Despite Charles and Camilla’s early history, they remained friends during her marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. When their first child, Tom, was born, they asked Charles to be Tom’s godfather, and he accepted. Diana reportedly refused to allow Tom to be in their wedding party, although he did attend the ceremony with Camilla.
After Charles married Camilla, he became Tom’s stepfather (as well as stepfather to Camilla’s daughter, Laura). In spite of Charles and Camilla’s bumpy road, all the kids were on board with the royal marriage. The children of both have said that all they care about is their parents’ happiness, and they have warm feelings for their stepparents.
Her brother died tragically
Camilla Parker Bowles’s brother, travel writer and conservationist Mark Shand, died suddenly in 2014 at the age of 62 after he fell and hit his head outside a charity event in New York City. An official statement from Charles and Camilla said they were “utterly devastated” by the tragic loss.
Camilla’s parents have also passed, with her mother, Rosalind Shand, dying from complications of osteoporosis in 1994, at age 72 (her grandmother had died of the same disease eight years earlier). “My family and I watched in horror as my mother quite literally shrank in front of our eyes,” Camilla said. This inspired her to become president of the UK’s National Osteoporosis Society.
Camilla’s father, Major Bruce Shand, died in 2006 at age 89. Fortunately, the year before, he was able to witness his daughter finally marrying the man she loved. Camilla remains close to her sister, Annabel Elliot.
Camilla was sick at her wedding to Charles
According to Vanity Fair, Camilla was so ill with sinusitis on the day of her wedding, April 9, 2005, she could barely move. What got her out of bed? Her sister, Annabel, threatened to put on Camilla’s wedding clothes!
Because Charles and Camilla were both divorced, and Camilla’s ex-husband is still alive, they were unable to remarry in the Church of England. So they had a civil ceremony followed by a church blessing at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle—the same spot where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were later married.
Although the queen hadn’t always been in favor of the match, when it became clear that nothing was going to keep Charles from his true love, she gave her blessing. Elizabeth “may not have liked the process that led to this marriage,” Koenig says, but “she realized and accepted that Camilla was good for Charles—she supported him and never tried to outshine him. She has been the perfect partner for him.”
At the reception, the queen reportedly referenced the Grand National horse race, saying, “They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles. They have come through, and I’m very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves.”
She’s won the hearts of the people
After a rocky start, who is Camilla Parker Bowles today? From controversy to queen, Lloyd says Camilla has been consistent, reserved and dignified. And in doing so, she has gradually won over the royal family and the British public. “Her steady support of Charles and the royal family has won her the support of many, even some who had little respect for her early on,” Lloyd says. “As a member of the royal family, she has worked hard in her public duties and has steered clear of press statements that might cause any embarrassment or trouble for the family.”
In 2024, when King Charles was diagnosed with cancer, Camilla once again demonstrated her strength and commitment. “She has supported her husband and filled in for him at several events,” Lloyd says. “Camilla’s devotion to him and the royal family is appreciated by many in the country, and her popularity has continued to grow.”
Of course, there are still people who are not fans of Camilla and Charles. But the couple have proven that even royalty should follow their hearts when it comes to marriage. Their enduring love for each other paved a new path for the next generations, including Prince William and Prince Harry, to choose their own partners.
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Sources:
- Carol Ann Lloyd, British historian, author of The Tudors by Numbers and host of British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics; interview, April 2025
- Nikki Jain, founder and CEO of The Sprout PR; email interview, April 2025
- Marlene Koenig, royal historian and author specializing in British and European royalty; email interview, April 2025
- Vanity Fair: “Charles and Camilla, Together at Last”
- Parliament.uk: “Bound Volume Hansard – Written Answers”
- People: “Camilla Parker Bowles Adopts a Rescue Pup”
- Express: “Camilla Duchess of Cornwall Doesn’t always Travel with Prince Charles Due to This Reason”
- Daily Mail: “Prince Charles Throws Camilla a 70th Birthday Party Fit for a Duchess Attended by 250 of Her Closest Friends and Family”
- Footwear News: “Duchess Camilla’s Been Wearing These Classic Chanel Shoes for Over a Decade”
- Vanity Fair: “How Camilla Won Over the Queen and Became the Duchess of Cornwall”
- NBC News: “Camilla at 70: Has the Duchess Finally Won British Hearts?”
