Here are some photos of the Duchess of Cornwall at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home last week. Camilla is the new royal patron for the animal-shelter charity, which means that she gets to hang out with other patrons like… David Gandy! I would love it David Gandy and Camilla started hanging out regularly. Why not? Anyway, I’m writing this story for two reasons. One, I’m not sure Camilla had ever held a cat before this visit, because that poor black kitty is like “why is this leather-glove clad lady choking me????” Two, I wanted you to know that Camilla was a wine-drinking child.
It’s no secret that the Duchess of Cornwall is a wine connoisseur, but as it turns out, the royal’s love for vino goes back to her early days. Though Camilla was born in London, the president of the UK’s Vineyard Association recently admitted that when it comes to drinking, she was raised like the French.
“People always ask me how I became involved in it all, well first of all I love wine, but secondly, my father was in the wine business, so I was brought up as a child drinking wine and water rather like the French,” the 69-year-old said on January 25 at a reception celebrating the association’s 50th anniversary. She further revealed, “My grandfather also wrote about wine as did my great-grandfather, so I think it’s very much in my blood and it’s so exciting to see British wine taking off.”
While at the event held at Clarence House, Prince William’s stepmother discussed how global warming is positively affecting British wine. She said, “We don’t exactly have the climate, or we didn’t then, but I expect with global warming it’s going to get better and better, we’re going to get better and better wine.”
The royal also offered her two-cents on the organization’s proposed named of British Fizz for the country’s sparkling wine. “I just feel champagne is such a good name and we don’t want to let the French beat us with a better name, so I think everybody ought to get back to having another little think about it,” Prince Charles’s wife said. The Duchess added, “I do quite often think I’ve got a really good name, and then I wake up in the morning and I’ve forgotten it.”
I doubt Charles is going to be too happy about Camilla’s “well global warming is bringing us good English wine!” talk. That being said, she’s not wrong – global warming has dramatically changed the climate around Europe and around the world, and it’s affecting wine production too. As for Camilla being raised to drink wine from childhood… this explains so much! No, I jest. I suspect she means that she was raised in the continental-European way, which is to not stigmatize alcohol consumption and instead treat it like any other beverage.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
That poor cat.
I do like her a lot.
Her global warming comment is a let-them-eat-cake statement. Really tone deaf.
Well, some place has to pick up the slack after California drops into the ocean. Silver lining in the carbon dioxide cloud.
Nah, we’re only moving up closer to wine country in Sonoma (real fact: the plates under California are on a north-south slip pattern, so we go north, not west).
Yes and no. At least she is acknowledging reality. But it comes off as flippant.
I thought she was just acknowledging a reality. I’ve seen that same statement made in news articles. I think I’ve seen the same statement made about Canadian wine too.
She didn’t say life overall would get better — she just said British wine would improve (since climate impacts taste or so I’ve read).
I don’t like her much, but her statement just read to me like a general reality about wine. Not that the world isn’t going to suck with climate change.
What goes round……..
During Roman times wine was produced in England.
I don’t think it’s tone deaf, just true. The climate change in itself is worrisome, but the fact is that it has made some areas better. Where I live in Texas we now have actual winters, where in my youth the low in January was 65. I love that I get a real winter yet still understand that the changes have long term effects that aren’t so positive. That doesn’t make me ignorant or tone deaf for stating/thinking facts.
Hey Bitsy, it is my job to be sensible! 🍸
And here in Deep South Louisiana, its grown hotter. We used to have freezes. Now? We have had 6 days of winter weather. SIX. Six. I’m disgusted. Not to mention in 50 years we will have gulf front property. : (
I know many can’t stand her but I like her.
I do too. I like her commitment to rescue animals, including her own pet dogs.
I like her too.
She is also supports an associacion for raped women.
I like her as well and she’s very supportive of Prince Charles
So was I – heavily watered wine is a traditional drink, and hardly alcoholic at all. About as alcoholic as shandy. Plus, when I was little the drinking age in England was 5, for alcohol consumed at home. And I’m a lot younger than Cam!
So was I too. Some of my relatives had a vineyard. I started drinking wine and water as soon as I was a toddler, it was my grannie giving it to us with sugar and bread crusts. I don’t think there’s a start age limit in Italy though.
Me too. Not every meal time but if my parents were having wine, we got a tiny bit in our glass of water.
me too! was a splash of wine in water, sprite or gingerale. Wasn’t a big deal at all.
The thing that jumped out at me is the mention of Will in an article that has nothing to do with him
Charles won’t care as long as the wine is organic.
Plus he could never be upset with her ever.
Hmm. Well I was raised that giving alcohol to children is wrong. I mean when you really think about it, it is poison. A hangover is no joke! I doubt though that she would have been given enough wine as a kid to get drunk though right?
Margo, any substance can be poison, all depends on the quantity administered. That includes water.
I’ve seen pregnant women in Dublin drink Guiness, similarly in Paris as well.
In fact, as kid I’d have some brandy with water when I had a cold. Let me tell you, It probably deterred me from heavy alcohol consumption lol.
“Well I was raised that giving alcohol to children is wrong.”
I never heard that in Italy, Margo.
Surely a bottle of wine drunk all by yourself is excessive.
I started being given mixed wine when I was 2 and a half; I think I probably got drunk 3 times in my life and never before 25 years of age.
I don’t have a problem with it. To each their own, plus all my grandparents are immigrants and children could have alcohol in their cultures. But I wouldn’t do it and don’t see why you’d want to. Why bother? Plus it’s bitter and most kids I know wouldn’t even like it. If you water it down like crazy, too, again- why bother.
Well I was raised in Switzerland, and we started drinking wine at the age of twelve. Only at dinner and only one glass. I still like a glass of wine with my dinner. Water with a nice quiche or whatever just doesn’t cut it.
Totally right!
The global warming comment is utterly stupid (and tone deaf). I wish these idiots would think before they speak. Ridiculous. The last thing we need in the current climate (see what I did there?) is people talking about climate change as anything other than a huge potential disaster for the planet.
Agreed. How is that not the lead? Thats an unforgiveable Marie Antoinette moment not much different than if she had said, “The people have no water because climate change triggered drought, you say? Well, let them drink wine! Problem sloved, you are welcome”. This is beyond utterly stupid. Its gross.
Me and my siblings were allowed to drink little wine mixed with water and we are just fine.
I thought she was a drunk? But I see here she is a “wine connoisseur.” That’ll be my story from now on – and I have Camilla to back me up!
Yeah, also that would explain these ridiculous climate change quotes. She does seem like she’s on the wine 24/7, I guess that makes her a connoisseur alright.
Drinking wine and water is a very normal thing to do in countries where drinking wine is a cultural norm not just an excuse to get drunk.
I like Camilla. I think she does a good job and if all the horrible comments from Diana fanatics get her down, she never shows it in public.
“Drinking wine and water is a very normal thing to do in countries where drinking wine is a cultural norm not just an excuse to get drunk.”
Exactly. I was appalled when I was in USA and also here in UK when I saw that people just drink for ‘getting drunk’. In Italy we always used alcohol as an accompaniment to a meal or aftermeal.
In my life I’ve not seen many Italians drinking wine in the morning, whilst there’s plenty of youngsters here in my area (northern England) drinking beer in the number of can boxes at 10-11 am!!
Really? I live in Italy for about 2 years (in Siena), and there was plenty of drinking to get drunk there, too. There was also plenty of day drinking…granted people tended to drink a cheap bottle of wine (or grapa, if you wanted to get really drunk) rather than tins of lager.
She didnt care about Diana the actual human being felt when she was alive, why would she care what the rest of us common folk think 20 years on? I doubt she has the capacity to be honest. Shame and guilt require self reflection and I doubt either of those people were raised with that ability. Anyway, she got what she wanted, she couldnt be more pleased with herself.
FFS. Charles didn’t cheat on you personally. Nor were you any of the many wives whose husbands cheated with Diana. Because Diana had at least three affairs with married men.
Diana and Charles were never a good match, no matter what other people were in the picture. They never would have lasted. Camilla didn’t want to marry Charles when they were younger, she wanted Andrew Parker-Bowles and Charles was a fling. I doubt she wanted to marry Charles in 2005 either, but it was too awkward for them to remain unmarried.
Ramona, and Diana didn’t care about the married men she had affairs with. The Diana crowd seem to get amnesia about her home wrecking habits
I. Don’t. Care. What. She. Ever. Did.
I have never warmed up to her no matter how many animals she is photographed with. To me she interrupted a marriage and she had no right to do it.
Julia Carling probably agrees, Robyn.
And Susan Mannakee. And Diane Hoare.
Charles is blameless in this, Robyn? What about Kanga Tryon?
Charles and Diana were never going to work long-term, no matter what other people were in the picture.
I was not raised in Europe but as a child I was allowed to have apple cider during Christmas. My husband being from France and Italy, was allowed to have watered Lambrusco when he was a kid. We grew up fine and we enjoy drinking wine for the taste and not only for getting drunk, in fact we have a limit that we rarely overpass. So I understand that there are families that will see Camila’s upbringing as normal as I understand there will be many that will not.
I am glad that she supports animal causes and the cat in the photo is so beautiful, although her comments on the global warming were strange.
I was raised having sips of whatever my parents were drinking. It’s how we found out I’m allergic to beer.
I’m American, and we were, too. No big deal.
Yea let’s take a look at American children these days…. tablet/iPhone/iPad in their hands at all time. Childhood obesity is on the rise! Kids expect recognition for just showing up to games, regardless of participation. I don’t know think having a little diluted wine is anymore harmful than a processed Happy Meal from McD’s
seconded
+1
True dat!
Good for her for talking about climate change. I think we should all be talking about it, all the time.
The reality is that in some countries, or regions, and for some industries, there will be positive gains (like Canada) and in other countries it will be biblical the scale of horrors (too many countries). This is not an endorsement of climate change – gentleman start your engines – rather a fact.
As for accusations of her being tone deaf, I don’t read it that way. At all.
I like her a lot and not just because she reminds me of my French/English/New Zealander favorite aunt — they look exactly alike. She supports animals and raped women amongst other worthy charities. Furthermore, she and Prince Charles should have been allowed to marry in the first place and then none of that other crap would have happened.