Queen Camilla “Lives Life According to a Spreadsheet” and Has Sacrificed Mightily for Love, Royal Expert Says
Her first year as Queen is coming to a close.
![Queen Camilla at Royal Ascot](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5hAtnPDiAqpbjtsMNbhhE6-415-80.jpg)
The things we do for love: we all make sacrifices for love, but, The Daily Mail reports, Queen Camilla has especially sacrificed for her marriage to King Charles. She has “no time to cook for friends and family. Every waking moment on a spreadsheet. And definitely no jeans!”—and that’s just the first half of the headline of the outlet’s article on the subject matter. “Fun-loving Camilla could be putting her feet up by now,” the second half reads, “But the Queen has accepted her new role for love.”
It’s true—by falling in love with the heir to the throne 50 years ago, ultimately carrying on an extramarital affair with him and eventually marrying him, Camilla certainly has sacrificed a quiet life for the one she loves. Camilla’s integration into the Firm has been steady over time, and, as royal expert and Camilla biographer Angela Levin writes for the outlet, as Camilla approaches her first year on the throne as Queen (and Charles, of course, approaches his one-year anniversary as well), “the changes thrust upon his wife Camilla are just as great, if not greater.”
Camilla can find bits of privacy by escaping to her private home, Ray Mill, in Wiltshire from time to time, Levin writes. “After particularly hectic engagements or foreign trips, she can decompress for a day or two, or perhaps a weekend,” she continues. “But everything else is very different. Once known for her spontaneity, her love of riding, good company, and her family, Camilla’s life now runs on rails.”
As Queen, every moment of Camilla’s life is now carefully scheduled—even time set aside for her children and grandchildren. “It’s no longer a matter of popping ‘round or picking up the phone,” Levin writes. “It’s life according to a spreadsheet. There’s little time to cook—and far more time spent with the hairdresser. Her friends understand the constraints but admit it’s hard to see her.”
Camilla, Levin continues, has kept involved with charities that matter most to her, like those relating to domestic violence and children’s literacy, but she has less time to devote to them than she would have liked. Speeches make her nervous, and she hasn’t given an interview since the Coronation three months ago. The breadth of her role has steadily increased over the last five years or so, as Her late Majesty’s health declined, and more sharply over the past two years. “She has undoubtedly learned a discipline and got much more organized,” one of Camilla’s friends tells Levin. “It’s quite something as she is not a naturally organized person. She had to do so because there is so much going on that there wouldn’t have been time for her to see her children or grandchildren, which are so important to her.”
As her first year as Queen comes to a close, “I think the main change is one of confidence, which comes from a real embrace of the duty and responsibility of the role,” another friend tells Levin.
And as for why Camilla is doing this in the first place—love—she and Charles seem more connected than ever, with Levin noting that Charles now puts his arm around her in public, “which I don’t recall seeing when his mother was alive,” she writes. “And this perhaps gets to the heart of the question: why? Why would a fun-loving, free-spirited, irreverent—somewhat lazy—woman sign up for a life of unbelievably hard work and duty at a time she might have hoped to spend life doing exactly as she pleased? The answer, I believe, is love. As it happens, I think she is enjoying her new role, but Camilla is doing this for Charles.”
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
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.
-
Zendaya Delivers a Podium-Worthy Pre-Olympics Gown
She's shining brighter than the City of Lights.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
'Love Island USA' Star Kenny Rodriguez Is Not "Playing Around" with His and JaNa Craig's Romance Outside of the Villa
The prince and princess of season 6 have remained the cutest couple since filming wrapped.
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
So Many Celebrity Beauty Favorites Are in Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale
Shop Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Markle, and Kaia Gerber's beloved picks.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
Why the Royal Family's Income Just Increased By a Whopping $58 Million
Now that's an impressive pay rise.
By Amy Mackelden Published
-
King Charles Was Jealous of Princess Diana’s Success, But Couldn’t Be More Proud of Queen Camilla’s Own Triumphant Rise In Popularity Over the Years, Royal Commentator Says
“These difficult few months will have made his love even deeper.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
King Charles’ Dramatically Shortened Royal Tour of Oceania This Fall Shows He “Can’t Do Everything,” Friend Says
The planned three-week trip of four countries has been cut to 10 days and two countries as the King continues to receive treatment for cancer.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Camilla’s Friends Have “Never Seen Her So Worried” As She Has Been Over King Charles This Year
The experience of his cancer diagnosis has been “hugely tough.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
After Meeting a Teenage Prince William for the First Time, Then Camilla Parker-Bowles Quipped “I Need a Gin and Tonic,” Royal Author Writes
Still largely known as “the other woman,” Camilla was “decidedly anxious” about meeting the future king.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
King Charles’ Famous Temper Appears to Have Resurfaced as Video Catches Him Snapping at An Aide Regarding a Struggling Queen Camilla
The lip readers and the body language experts have weighed in on the moment.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Camilla Carries a Lady Dior Bag for Two Days In a Row This Week—A Handbag That Was Literally Named for Princess Diana
It was one of Diana’s signature accessories for the last two years of her life—and now Camilla is wearing the style for the first time.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Camilla’s Dresser Initially “Ruffled a Few Feathers” Over Denying Other Female Royals the Chance to Wear the Color Blue, Camilla’s Favorite Hue
She has since relaxed the rules a little bit and “slowly released her grip on who can wear the color blue.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published