Queen Camilla Uses a "Signal" from Queen Elizabeth's Playbook to Get King Charles to Shut Up When He "Talks For Too Long"
Royal author Robert Hardman said "tours don't go nearly as well" when Queen Camilla isn't "around."
Queen Elizabeth couldn't get enough of her luxurious Launer handbags, but she didn't just use them as fashion statements. The late monarch was known to use her trusty bags to send secret messages to her entourage, like when she was ready to move on to a new conversation or if she wanted to leave an event. But it turns out Queen Camilla has borrowed one of her mother-in-law's tricks to keep King Charles in line—although her handbag moves aren't quite as subtle.
Speaking on the Daily Mail's "Palace Confidential" show, royal author Robert Hardman shared Camilla's handy tactic for getting The King to "move on" during busy royal events.
Sharing that King Charles "does love a chat," Hardman said that he often makes his staff "nervous" for talking "too long to people in a crowd," especially during royal tours. The royal commentator continued that when "everyone's looking at their watches, and the entourage, they're getting more and more nervous and no one quite wants to go up and go 'Sir, can you get a move on,' they'll whisper to The Queen."
King Charles, seen greeting fans with Queen Camilla in 2022, loves to chat to crowds.
Queen Camilla, seen during the couple's recent Italy tour, is said to tap Charles with her handbag when she needs him to stop talking.
This is when Camilla pulls a move out of Queen Elizabeth's book. "The Queen has this very sweet thing, she'll just gently nudge him in the small of his back with the corner of her handbag, and it's kind of the symbol, the signal, of 'Come on, let's get a move on,'" Hardman explained.
It's no surprise that The King's staff rely on Camilla to keep Charles on schedule, as she's said to be the only person who he'll listen to when it comes to a number of matters, including his cancer battle. However, The Queen recently told reporters that despite her best efforts, she can't get her husband to relax.
When asked if her husband will be slowing down anytime soon, she said (via the Sun), "No, I think he loves his work and it keeps him going. And I think it's wonderful, you know, if you've been ill and you are recovering, you're getting better and now he wants to do more and more and more. That's the problem."
As for Queen Camilla's impact on royal tours, Hardman added, "She calls him 'the boss,' there is sort of an understanding, he's in charge, he is The King, but at the same time, these tours don't go nearly as well if she's not around. It's different."
