Queen Camilla was ‘nervous’ about her new royal role, her former daughter-in-law Sara Parker-Bowles revealed.
She also discussed a change she has seen in the public perception of Camilla, from being rejected for a long time to now being seen as a “human face of the royal family”.
Queen Camilla was ‘nervous’ at coronation with Charles
Sara married Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles in 2005 after meeting in 2002. They gave Camilla two grandchildren: Freddy, 13, and Lola, 16.
Camilla also has a daughter, Laura Lopes. Laura has three children: Eliza, 15, who was a bridesmaid at Prince William and Kate’s wedding and fraternal twins, Gus and Louis, 13.
Despite separating from food writer Tom in 2018, Sara was still invited to Charles and Camilla’s coronation along with the rest of the family, where Freddy was also one of the Pages of Honour to his grandmother.
According to Sara, Camilla was insistent that her loved-ones should be a part of the special occasion in this way.
“She wanted the people that she loved around her,” Sara once told The Times.
She went on to reveal that while King Charles apparently “wasn’t nervous at all”, Camilla on the other hand “was really, really nervous” about the ceremony.
“She didn’t ask for any of this.” Sara pointed out. “She’s the human face of the royal family, because she’s not part of it. You need those outsiders, really.”
She’s the human face of the royal family.
Queen Camilla’s struggles for acceptance
Of course, Camilla has not always been viewed in this way. Speaking from personal experience, Sara also vividly recalled the great and lengthy difficulty her former-mother-in-law endured to get acceptance from the British public.
She described Camilla’s first few years with King Charles as “the hate years”, admitting: “[Camilla] wasn’t accepted at all.”
However, the now Queen Consort apparently put on a brave face throughout it all.
“She didn’t talk about it. She was just very brave and uncomplaining,” Sara said. “Tom was worried it would happen all over again when the Queen died, but it has been the opposite.”
In spite of her marriage breakdown, which she admits she will “never not be sad about”, Sara remains defensive of her former mother-in-law.
She said Camilla was “always in it for the right reasons” and it’s “not right for someone to have gone through what she did, but it’s come to fruition – not being Queen, but to be with the person that you love”.
Last week, Camilla celebrated her first birthday since assuming the title “Queen”. She was honoured with a special gun salute in Green Park, London.
Read more: Queen Camilla’s kindness praised after butler left ’terrified’: ‘She put me at ease’
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