How Queen Camilla Has "Changed" King Charles "For the Better" and Helped Public See "More of the Real Him"

King Charles and Queen Camilla smiling at each other in blue outfits — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Queen Camilla turned 78 on Thursday, July 17, with the Royal Family sharing a series of beautiful new portraits of Her Majesty to mark the occasion. And although she's faced incredible scrutiny surrounding her relationship with King Charles, a former royal staffer is weighing in on how The Queen has helped her husband see the lighter side of life.

Grant Harrold, who served as a butler to The King from 2004 to 2011, shared that the monarch's relationship with Queen Camilla has "changed him for the better." Speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, Harrold said, "She's helped him become more comfortable and more himself, I think we see more of the real him thanks to her."

“She makes him laugh a lot," he continued. "We always see him laughing now. I'm not saying he didn't laugh before, or he didn't have fun, but there was a point where he did become quite serious, probably when he was extremely unhappy in his previous marriage."

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Queen Camilla and King Charles wearing their coronation crowns and outfits smiling at each other — The King and Queen are seen after their 2023 coronation.

Queen Camilla wearing a blue dress leaning on a fence and smiling — Queen Camilla is seen in one of her 78th birthday portraits, taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson.

Harrold said that the couple—who recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary—complement each other and The Queen brings out The King's more lighthearted qualities. He shared, "suddenly you see him laughing and joking and and being more like himself again and comfortable with her, it is amazing and she's been an amazing support to him."

When it comes to public engagements, royal sources have shared that The King can be overly chatty at times, and Camilla is the only one who can get him to move along—sometimes with a gentle nudge of her handbag. That being said, Harrold said that Camilla is "not only a support, she's also very good at keeping him focused."

Their Majesties are often seen laughing together, and Harrold shared that Camilla "has a great sense of humor, and she does encourage him to be more relaxed and I suppose not take life so seriously to an extent."

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.