The Queen and Prince Charles Are Closer Than Ever, Thanks to Camilla

Prince Charles kisses the hand of his mother, Queen Elizabeth. Sang Tan / WPA Pool for Getty Images

(Image credit: Sang Tan / WPA Pool for Getty Images)

published 19 May 2022

Prince Charles and Camilla have been getting ample airtime this week, as they’re in Canada as a part of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee worldwide tour. And it’s been a big year for them overall, starting with the Queen’s announcement in February that it is her “sincere wish” for the Duchess of Cornwall to become Queen Consort upon Charles’ ascension to the throne—a surefire sign that Her Majesty feels Camilla is acing her public duties as a working royal.

But privately, it seems Camilla is doing meaningful work, too. According to Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl, via The Daily Express, the Queen and Charles are “closer than ever,” as “family-first” Camilla is helping them heal their mother-son bond.

“[Camilla’s] family is her nucleus,” Nicholl wrote. “She is extremely close to her son, Tom, daughter, Laura, and five grandchildren. She remains on good terms with her ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, and counts her sister, Annabel, as her best friend.”

This influence has not been lost on her husband of 17 years, as “her ‘family first’ motto has rubbed off on Charles, who speaks to Prince William almost every day on the phone and is closer than ever to his mother,” Nicholl continued.

Recently, the Queen’s mobility issues have forced Charles to take on more duties of the monarch than ever, with William stepping into new territory in his royal duties, as well. Last week, Charles represented Her Majesty at the State Opening of Parliament, with William by his side—a palpable shift in the working core of the royal family, as this was William’s first time attending the event (and only the Queen’s third time to miss). Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt told PA, via the Express, that the State Opening of Parliament was a “significant moment for two future kings.”

“Charles will accelerate his on-the-job training,” Hunt said. “The heir is teetering on the edge of becoming de facto prince regent. William will observe what awaits him. With the Queen progressively withdrawing from public life, the palace is keen to show the monarchy is safe in the hands of father and son.”

And, as both Charles’ future as king and William’s future as Prince of Wales near, they are growing continually closer privately too and, thankfully, both continue to share a tight knit bond with the Queen, who happily kicked off her Platinum Jubilee celebrations last weekend.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.