Queen Camilla
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III.[note 1]
For other uses, see Queen Camilla (disambiguation).Camilla
8 September 2022 – present
6 May 2023
Camilla Rosemary Shand
17 July 1947
King's College Hospital, London, England
Windsor (by marriage)
Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington in England and educated in England, Switzerland, and France. In 1973, she married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles; they divorced in 1995. Camilla and Charles were romantically involved periodically, both before and during each of their first marriages. Their relationship was highly publicised in the media and attracted worldwide scrutiny. In 2005, Camilla married Charles in the Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised Anglican blessing at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. From their marriage until Charles's accession, she was known as the Duchess of Cornwall. On 8 September 2022, Charles became king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, with Camilla as queen consort. Charles and Camilla's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.
Camilla carries out public engagements representing the monarch and is the patron of numerous charities and organisations. Since 1994, she has campaigned to raise awareness of osteoporosis, which has earned her several honours and awards. She has also campaigned to raise awareness of issues such as rape, sexual abuse, illiteracy, animal welfare and poverty.
Marriages and children
First marriage
In the late 1960s, Shand met Andrew Parker Bowles, then a Guards officer – a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals through his younger brother, Simon, who worked for her father's wine firm in Mayfair.[28] After an on-and-off relationship for years, Parker Bowles and Shand's engagement was announced in The Times in 1973.[29] Sally Bedell Smith claimed that the announcement was sent out by the pair's parents without their knowledge, which forced Parker Bowles to propose.[30] They married on 4 July 1973 in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the Guards' Chapel, Wellington Barracks, in London.[31] Shand was 25 years old and Parker Bowles 33. Her wedding dress was designed by British fashion house Bellville Sassoon,[31] and the bridesmaids included Parker Bowles's goddaughter Lady Emma Herbert.[32] It was considered the "society wedding of the year"[33] with 800 guests.[31] Royal guests present at the ceremony and reception included Queen Elizabeth II's daughter, Anne; the Queen's sister, Margaret; and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[33]
Charity work
Patronages
Camilla is the patron or president of over 100 charities and organisations.[179][b] She is the honorary commodore-in-chief of the Royal Navy Medical Service. In this role, she visited the training-ship HMS Excellent in January 2012, to award medals to naval medical teams returning from service in Afghanistan.[191] She is also an honorary member of other patronages and in February 2012, she was elected a bencher of Gray's Inn.[192] In February 2013, she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, a role which is ceremonial and involves conferring graduates with their degrees.[193] She took up the office in June 2013. She is the first female chancellor of the University of Aberdeen and the only member of the royal family to hold the post since it was created in 1860.[194]
Fashion and style
Camilla topped Richard Blackwell's list of "Ten Worst-Dressed Women" in 1994, and her name appeared on it again in 1995, 2001 and 2006.[274] In the years after her marriage, she has developed her own style and tried outfits and ensembles by notable fashion designers.[275][276] She is said to prefer "signature tea and shirt dress styles" and favours "tones of nude, white and navy" and "round necklines".[275] She has also been praised for her jewellery collections.[275] In 2018, Tatler named her on its list of Britain's best dressed people, praising her for her hat choices which have given "millinery a good name".[277] Charles and Camilla topped Tatler's Social Power Index for 2022 and 2023.[278] In 2024, the magazine included her on its list of the most glamorous European royals.[279]
In 2022, Camilla took part in her first solo magazine shoot for British Vogue, appearing in the July 2022 issue.[280] The shoot took place at Clarence House, and the outfits were chosen from her own wardrobe.[280] In 2023, she was named among British Vogue's "The Vogue 25", which annually celebrates influential women pushing British society forwards.[281] [282]
Ancestry
Camilla's ancestry is predominantly English. She also has Dutch, Scottish, Colonial American, French and French–Canadian ancestors.[306]
Camilla is descended from Dutch emigrant Arnold Joost van Keppel, who was created Earl of Albemarle by King William III in 1696.[307] Through Anne van Keppel, Countess of Albemarle and a granddaughter of King Charles II, Camilla's bloodline is descended from the Houses of Stuart and Bourbon.[306][308]
Camilla's Scottish lineage descends from King Robert III through his daughter Mary, who was the mother of Sir William Edmonstone of Duntreath, an ancestor of her maternal great-great-grandfather, Sir William Edmonstone, 4th Baronet.[309] Her paternal ancestors, an upper-class family, emigrated to England from Scotland.[310]
Camilla's French lineage derives partially through her maternal great-great-grandmother, Sophia Mary MacNab of Hamilton, Ontario, daughter of Sir Allan MacNab, who was prime minister of the Province of Canada before Confederation.[311] Sophia's son George Keppel and King Edward VII's mistress Alice Keppel were Camilla's maternal great-grandparents.[312]
Through Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, Camilla and Charles are ninth cousins once removed.[313]