Yesterday was the 75th birthday of Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Wife of Crown Prince Charles.
On the occasion of her birthday, the official account of the British royal family released the latest portrait of Camilla, wearing a blue floral dress, her hair has completely turned white, and her smile is very bright.
According to British media reports, on this birthday, Camilla and Prince Charles hosted a small family dinner at their home in High Grove, Gloucestershire, inviting friends and family.
The core members of the royal family, the queen and William Kate, also congratulated them on time with the official account.
For Camilla, while this year's birthday is still not celebrated with much fanfare, it is already more high-profile than in previous years.
Or rather, since the beginning of this year, Camilla's presence has greatly improved.
From the increasingly central position at public events, to the number of public appearances at royal events, to the tone of her voice mentioned in the royal "press release"...
From the time the Queen awarded her the Order of garter, representing her highest honor, and supported her as queen, the royal family seemed to have an iron heart and wanted to create a positive image for Camilla.
Some time ago, Camilla appeared on the cover of the magazine "Country Life".
She sat relaxed in the middle of the countryside, her hand on the flower basket, smiling at the camera.
It is worth noting that the photographer of this photo is no one else, but Princess Kate.
The magazine also announced the shooting process of the photo:
To celebrate the Duchess of Cornwall's upcoming 75th birthday, Country Life has published a special issue.
She also invited the Duchess of Cambridge (aka Princess Kate) to take a cover photo for her. ”
According to the Daily Telegraph, while discussing the details of the portrait, Camilla suggested: "I want Kate to shoot it." The magazine editor on the other side was stunned for a long time, thinking for a long time whether there was a photographer named Kate, and then reacted.
It seems casual, but everything the royal family does has a deep meaning, and the handing over such an important official portrait to Princess Kate is understood by many as a symbol of Princess Kate's public support for Camilla, a friendly gesture of cooperation between the two "future queens".
This is tantamount to using Kate's high national favorability (sometimes second only to the queen) to escort Camilla's queenship.
And, it's worth noting, this is Already Camilla's second magazine feature of this time.
Over the past few decades, she has rarely given magazine interviews and has maintained an extremely low profile.
Now, in addition to her country life, she has been interviewed by Vogue's British July magazine and even answered questions about him and Charles and Diana.
Intentionally or unintentionally – Camilla was a great image in Vogue's feature interview.
Throughout the article, Camilla is portrayed as a warm, easy-going and charismatic figure.
"I'm really sorry, you're going to shoot an old woman today."
Camilla used this sentence as the opening statement of the shooting day, and Vogue's interview also wrote this as the first sentence.
She mentioned her relationship with Charles—she still couldn't always be together, even though she was past the age of the flower armor.
"We have to find a special time in the middle of the trip to sit together and drink tea and talk."
"The best thing about me and him was that we could sit in different corners of the same room and read a book. We don't have to talk to each other specifically, just being by each other's side will feel relaxed. ”
She even talked about the crowded, three-person marriage she hadn't talked about in decades.
"It's really not easy. I've been scrutinized by the public for a long time and you have to find a way to accept it. ”
"After all, no one likes to be watched, criticized, and ..."
She withheld the last word, and then said calmly: "But in the end, I passed this hurdle and continued to walk and reconcile with it." You have to keep living. ”
This passage also seems to be a microcosm of Camilla's life after entering the royal family.
She entered the royal family as a third party, was accused by thousands of people, and was insulted by all the British, but she just kept a low profile as much as possible and even stoic, never stood up to defend herself, and continued her life step by step, until... Recognized by the royal family.
In fact, since the Queen "retired" and handed over most of the duties belonging to the monarch to Charles, Camilla's status in the British royal family has become higher and higher.
Some media even directly said: "The days when the Duchess of Cornwall was willing to silently support her husband on the cold bench outside the field because she was worried about the love of the masses for Diana is gone." ”
As we all know, when Camilla married into the royal family, the royal family publicly issued a statement to "stabilize the people's hearts": Camilla would only be called a "concubine", not a queen.
After a few years, the document was quietly removed from buckingham Palace website.
Prince Charles, unusually determined to make Camilla queen.
"He couldn't leave Camilla at all, he was very stubborn, so there was no room for negotiation at the top of the royal family."
After the death of Prince Philip, Charles pressured the Queen several times that he needed the support of his partner — and if he became king, he would have to give Camilla a title and give her the corresponding support.
In this attitude, the members of the royal family gradually softened.
In February, the Queen publicly stated to the outside world in a letter celebrating the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne:
"When my son Charles became king, I wanted everyone to support them as much as they did for the couple. I sincerely hope that Camilla will be called queen by then. ”
The Williams also accepted camilla's role.
According to royal sources, the William Harry brothers were prone to anger and "unpredictable emotions," and Charles had a hard time staying in harmony with his son.
As a result, both Kate and Camilla are often involved in reconciling the father-son relationship.
In their relationship, William also admitted that Camilla was a true supporter of Prince Charles, and thus tacitly accepted the role of Charles's wife, the future queen.
Under the combined effect of many conditions, Camilla's sense of existence is getting stronger and stronger.
At first, no one in the royal family accepted her, and the public scolded her as soon as she appeared, so she hid herself and tried to be a transparent person, hiding outside the public eye and waiting for the opportunity.
Rarely attending royal events, she was once even called "the laziest woman in all of Britain".
But now, the time is ripe.
She became a representative of the "hard work" of the British royal family.
Not only did Camilla attend Commonwealth events with Prince Charles, standing at the heart of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, but there was also a growing number of personal events, appearing alone as the "Duchess of Cornwall".
In the most recent year, she has attended 169 royal events, just below Prince Charles's 255 and second in the royal family.
In the polls, Camilla's support has also risen.
Her current "favorability" has reached 40%, ranking eighth in the royal family, higher than Harry and Meghan.
(As a comparison: Queen 75%, Kate 68%, William 66%, Charles 42%, Harry 34%, Meghan 25%)
Although it is still not more than half, it is not easy compared to the almost unsupported when she first entered the royal family.
Even in the reports about her, there is gradually a voice to speak for her.
Last week, the Daily Mail reported that Camilla had gradually become a trusted member of the royal family, recognized by the Queen.
And in the always harsh comment area, some people even began to praise her.
"It's time to admit her. After all, since marrying Prince Charles, she has behaved impeccably, unlike others who have joined the royal family and gone to great lengths to discredit the royal family. ”
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"I really admire and appreciate Camilla. She gives the impression of being a very friendly person with a great sense of humor. Charles was also very happy with her, they looked very good, and they were together against all odds.
While I have a lot of respect for wearing Anna, to be honest, she and Charles are not suitable at all and should not have been married in the first place.
What do 19- and 20-year-olds know? Not to mention the decision to marry into the royal family! Everyone around Diana should have persuaded her, not encouraged her, and Charles should have resisted the pressure not to marry someone he barely knew.
But, even with so many twists and turns before, Charles and Camilla ended up together, and the heart of love won everything. ”
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However, there are also those who firmly believe that charles and Camilla's actions are unforgivable:
"I don't care who likes her, I don't like her anyway." I'll never forget how she and Charles betrayed Diana. If Charles hadn't cheated, Diana might still be alive and her children and grandchildren would be alive by now. ”
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Today's Britons, especially royal fans, are ambivalent about Camilla.
Hate— it must be nasty, after experiencing Princess Diana, and then look at the immoral third party, how to hate.
However, compared with Harry Meghan, Camilla seems to be very dedicated, very obedient to the rules of the royal game, diligent and earnest.
Therefore, this controversy will continue until Camilla really ascends to the throne.
But for Camilla herself, perhaps such controversy is no longer important.
Whether it was moral or not, whether it was a scheming or not, she finally got everything she wanted.