Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, turned 74 years old on Saturday. I forgot her birthday was so close to Diana’s birthday (and both were/are Cancers). Clarence House posted the above photo on social media. I mean, good for Camilla and the Clarence House team for choosing a photo where she’s smiling and genuinely looks happy, but also a photo where she looks like an old wine bag. That’s Camilla’s royal brand. Personally, I think William, Kate and their team were a bit shadier with their photo selection:
Wishing The Duchess of Cornwall a very happy birthday today!🎈 pic.twitter.com/DZycD89cVR
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) July 17, 2021
An unflattering photo, right? She looks very Grinch-y here. Kensington Palace only posted this on Twitter, not Instagram. Apparently, it’s the fifth year in a row where KP has noted Camilla’s birthday online:
A public message of birthday congratulations from William and Kate to Camilla was posted on social media on Saturday. It may seem a small thing, but in the carefully choreographed world of the royals, where nothing happens by accident, it’s worth attending to.
This is the fifth year in a row in which the Cambridges have sent Camilla birthday wishes, despite the fact that William is said to be, along with his brother, implacably opposed to his stepmother taking the title of queen when Charles ascends the throne. Charles, as The Daily Beast has previously reported, is said by some sources to intend to unilaterally declare Camilla queen when he is named king, despite having previously and publicly pledged to make her a mere Princess Consort out of deference to Diana’s memory.
Of course, Charles has shown readiness to completely and ruthlessly reverse course on the titular fate of another member of the royal family in recent days. His brother, Prince Edward, will reportedly no longer be getting the title of Duke of Edinburgh that was promised to him by Charles and the queen in a public statement made on the occasion of Edward’s wedding in 1999.
William and Kate’s ongoing warm words for Camilla on her birthday must give Charles hope, however, that his heir can be won round to his Queen Camilla dream.
It’s interesting to think about the complicated dynamics at play here. Clearly, Charles and William are attempting to be more closely allied, especially in the wake of the Sussexit. Clearly, Camilla’s place as the Queen Consort is of the utmost importance to Charles. Clearly, William and Harry have always withheld their support of Camilla’s queen-consort status. For William to give Camilla his full blessing, what would he get in return? It does feel like there’s bargaining happening behind the scenes. Perhaps William gets a life separate from Kate, with the full support of Charles. But even then, I don’t even think William goes to his father to talk about those kinds of things.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
What warm words from the keenbridges? Seems like their standard birthday greeting. As for if she can be queen consort, I don’t think it matters what Willy or anyone else thinks, it’s her rightful title and it’s Charles to give . And that is coming from me , someone who couldn’t give a rats ass about Chucky, Camilla , or duke and duchess do-nothings but rage and brief against.
That’s what I would think. Once Charles is king the giving of titles is in his hands.
Exactly. That’s basically the same online birthday greeting I give a high school Facebook friend I haven’t seen in 20+ years.
“it’s her rightful title and it’s Charles to give”
Charles does not have to give or not give the title to Camilla; it is his hers my virtue of marriage to the King. Camilla will become Queen the day QEII dies. Whether or not she uses the title day-to-day is another questions. However, make no beans about it, Camilla will be Queen if she is alive when Chucky ascends the throne.
Yes, she’ll obviously BE Queen (consort), but whether she uses it or not is up to Charles. Well, more specifically, the courtiers. Camilla is the Princess of Wales, but no one outside of deep royal followers can explain the preferred use of secondary titles, The v no The, etc.
Perception is reality, and if she doesn’t get to be called Queen (consort), she’s essentially not even it.
Camilla right now is legally Princess of Wales as you said so in this case perception is not reality; Cornwall is just what she uses.
There are a lot of things that most people who aren’t royal followers won’t understand, but this one is pretty simple. It’s why Charles had the claim about her not being Queen on the Clarence House site – a tidbit that has since been scrubbed.
Everyone knows she’s “legally” Princess of Wales, but that was so famously Diana that it’s not used, and the public wouldn’t like it and have made no bones about that not being an option, so yes, “perception” actually *is* reality.
Shiiiiiiieeeet, I think Camilla and Willard are closer than we know. Who else can he bring his mistresses questions to about navigating the sorted world of busting it wide on the down low for married aristos. Camilla represents what could be for him. She’s a wealth of information.
…I mean, she’s right there and they took away Yahoo answers, what are they meant to do?
Damn. That’s some good snark!
It’s always best to seek the advice of an expert.
Lol. Not yahoo answers!!!
😂 She said “Yahoo answers”!
Yahoo answers. You’re my people.
It must be so exhausting to live your life 24/7 in shadiness, backstabbing, one-upping, co-conspiring with every move you make. These people can’t even just say happy birthday to someone without some weird agenda behind how they do it. I’m really, really getting tired of these BR’s.
No wonder they rarely do any real work. All their time is spent working against each other.
Palace intrigue has existed as long as palaces.
Note to Camilla: Hire Helen Mirren’s glam squad.
Helen Mirren has a banging body. Camila is perpetually dumpy. Even in her youth. I’m sure she is physically fit and healthy but glamorous she will NEVER be.
Camilla looked at least 45 when she was in her prime.
Helen Mirin is my lifetime inspo because frankly she looks like she spent a lifetime of clean living and exercise (including weightlifting) to be that fine into her 70s. I’m not sure if she’s an abstainer but she certainly has that beautiful coloring of someone who eats their veggies and drinks little.
Camilla looks like she enjoys her cocktails with Charles. No Windsor looks like they do a scrap of exercise except Harry (who will forever be associated with that rope, yum). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying yourself that way, but you ain’t gonna look like Helen, that’s for sure.
Gruey, hate to burst your bubble, but Helen is a smoker & a drinker.
She has the same beauty routine as Jane Fonda: good genes and a lot of money.
Camilla looks fine and she’s not a Hollywood actor.
Why is that the default? There is a world beyond H’wood but no one in the group seem to know that it exists. There are a lot of older women politicians like Clinton and Pelosi who are way more dynamic and stylish than this woman. Also, she’s looked this way forever so why expect anything else?
I didn’t think Helen was a Hollywood actor
@L4Frimaire – probably because pols aren’t “supposed” to be focused on looking good, even though the women would get crucified for not putting in an effort. Everyone knows that Hollywood actresses are paid to look a certain way, even more than they’re paid to act, and they’re incredibly visible in a way that other groups who need to look good – the proverbial ladies who lunch, for example – are not.
@Betsy, it’s just BS. There are a ton of royals and duchesses in Europe they can compare her to, rather than some older actors. This is supposedly the consort of the future head of state but she’s compared to actors. Not First Ladies, not other royal consorts. Actors, then they try to pretend like their image is above it all and they are beyond mere celebrities. Then they should stay playing in their own pastures.
Let’s see.
1. The original poster referred to Camilla needing a glam squad, implying that
she needs to look glamourous.
2. Glamour is usually associated with the world of celebrity and well-known actors, who are usually best known in terms of Hollywood.
3. Helen Mirren is a renowned British actress who the course of her career has increasingly made “Hollywood movies.”
4. Both of them look well and dress appropriately for their positions in life. One is a stylist and glam-squad enabled actor often photographed on the red carpet, the other is a long-time British aristocrat raised in a world where looking sporty and fusty is a sign of old money. Cross-reference: Princess Anne’s TV room.
Look, I’m just another non Brit looking at this from the outside, thinking the British Royals are an overprivileged, literally entitled mess. But 74-year-old women (and women of any age) are allowed to appear as they are, and Camilla has stuck with her sunning, her booze and her hairstylist for reasons belonging only to her.
This has all made me think. I’m an American and that colored my comment, although I didn’t realize it at the time.
If I had suggested a glam squad for a U.K. prime minister or cabinet secretary all the way to village mayor, that would have been disrespectful.
I think of any royal not as a head of state but as celebrity. They are like Kardashians – no talent, part of a no-talent family, but they show up to be photographed. Whatever gender, a royal’s job is to be photographed. Therefore, the glam squad suggestion.
Reality is that Camilla is the spouse of a future ceremonial head of state. I will try to remind myself of that from time to time.
She’s already HAD a glam make over with professionals, including face teeth hair and clothes.
She’s fine except for the 1970s hairstyle.
Yeah, but at this point it’s like trying to talk my Grandma out of the iconic 50s Italian cut. Not gonna happen.
Just Camilla? Because I actually like her outfits better than Kate’s a good deal of the time.
equality — agreed actually! Camilla’s default coatdress + boots style suits her very well and she’s picked some lovely pieces. I never covet any of Kate’s clothes because she’s always so starched and prim and unnatural looking (shiiiiiiiiiiny buttons!) Kate is always playing dress-up for a role she’s still not comfortable in.
Camilla by contrast always looks comfortable. She is not cosplaying as anything; she is presenting her authentic self, and her authentic self is a good natured aristo happy to go tramping around on various walkabouts and do her bit without any fuss. The wardrobe pieces she brings out are often luxurious in a soft-draping way that makes them genuinely covetable. I would absolutely take castoffs from her closet; I’d love a good flared coat with fine fabric, and maybe some gorgeous leather riding boots.
I know I am in the minority here but of all the royal wedding dresses Camilla’s was my favorite. Loved the silver-blue color with the gold embroidered overcoat–gorgeous and luxe, but subtle, with some shaping to the collar to give it a bit of understated drama. And again, of all the royal brides, she looked by far the most comfortable.
I don’t think Camilla needs any kind of glam overhaul. She is who she is; she expresses herself authentically and is happy and relaxed in her role. She genuinely loves her husband, which, y’know, I wouldn’t want be her for all the crowns in all the world, but I wish her well with it. I don’t think she gives a fig about being queen or not except that Charles is so hung up on it. Anyway, I hope she keeps wearing what she wants and enjoying her cocktails.
I loved her wedding dress too. I agree that it was absolutely the best royal wedding dress of them all, with Eugenie’s(?) borrowed wedding dress second.
(unless they’re together I can’t tell the York girls apart.)
@equality, thank you! She dresses FAR better than that tastless, style-challenged Keen. I think Judi Dench has had an influence on Camilla’s style…I often see her in the exact same thing, and Judi is an icon to me: dresses fabulously and is happy with her weathered face, even makes it enviable :)) I think Camilla looks fine; she’s always been a down to earth, outdoorsy horsey person…she’s never hidden that.
She needs a better bra.
90% of the women in that family do.
Her and Sophie. Both need better support and fit with undergarments.
Yes! The Queen does too.
Why would Harry and William be opposed to Camilla becoming Queen Consort? The only reason I can come up with is they still don’t approve of her.
Right, its different from Princess of Wales, I understand that to a large extent because that title is still so associated with Diana. But Diana was never queen, and by the time of her death it was well established that she was never going to be queen. So the title is not associated with her in any way.
William’s opposition I can understand, if he wants his wife to be the “next” queen, then he would want Camilla to just be princess consort. But it would make no difference to Harry either way.
He’s an idiot if he thinks making Camilla Princess Consort means Kate will be the next Queen. It just means there’s now precedent for the Monarch’s spouse, regardless of gender to be Prince/ss Consort. Yay for equality! LOL
@Cee I actually think that could be a good idea if the monarchy allows an heir to marry someone of the same sex. If a King marries a man, they would be King and Prince Consort. Similarly, Queen and Princess Consort.
sofia – Oh I agree! But if they couldn’t handle a black duchess they won’t tolerate a gay Monarch.
If Camilla is HRH The Princess Consort then if could be stated that Kate should follow and not be HM The Queen Consort. Because, you know, equality for the next Female Monarch and her husband.
It opens up the debate as it did in the Netherlands a couple of years before Willem Alexander became King. Some people correctly stated that if there was to be equality of gender in the RF then Maxima had to be Princess Consort and not Queen, just like Prince Claus. It got shut down pretty quickly but still it became a topic of debate for the PM. The same could happen in the UK.
@Cee – I didn’t say it would be Kate 😉
Agree that setting up Camilla as Princess Consort should set the precedent for future spouses – and I think that will result in a fight between William and Charles. Like a big nasty public spat.
Oh, his ego would not tolerate for his wife, be it the present one or a future one, to not be Queen Consort. His engorged state of rage would not survive it.
If they do have a public spat I hope to see it. The tabloids would soon leave H&M well alone.
@Becks, you’re right, I believe: there was only opposition from the brothers, and the public, about her being Princess of Wales. In the early days after Diana’s death, there was public voicing of objection to her being the next Queen, when Diana was treated the way she was by the RF and finally moved away; the conflict was based on her being the Queen Mother to William; but that’s changed over the years, it was just an initial outburst…the public generally accept that Camilla will be Queen Consort, not Queen. It’s not a biggie, as far as I can see, and I also doubt it’s got anything to do with W or H.
As for Kate being “Queen,” she’s a commoner, and that won’t ever change. Diana wasn’t: she was from a blue-blood family, titled, with a history of Royal service. Kate is no different from Meghan: a commoner marrying a prince.
The Cambridges chose a photo that makes Camilla look like the Joker’s sister.
I like the navy suit that Kate is wearing in the photo of the four of them, even with the military-esque buttons. It’s rare that she wears anything that I would consider wearing myself.
Clearly, Camilla will be queen consort.
Now that I think about it, I kind of doubt that either of the brothers care about Cam becoming qc.
Every time I see that photo, I am reminded how scared Camilla looks of Baldimort by the way she is clinging to Charles. And Kate looks like she is in a trance, a medicated induced one.
Oh, Over it, I really don’t think Camilla is much afraid of anyone.
I have to disagree with you on this. I’m getting major grinch vibes from that picture too. Think about it, the grinch stole Christmas and she stole… well you know.
To me, it looks like she’s “holding one in” lol. That, or she’s six sheets to the wind 😄
@SaySo, consider that never once has Camilla spoken a word about the entire thing, for decades. The whole country, and world, knew Charles and Camilla were a “thing” from the moment they met; she wasn’t considered suitable for Charles, and did her best to move on and live a life; her husband was in service to the RF, so the connection was always there. I’m pretty sure he also knew the whole time about his wife’s r/ship with Charles; it was accepted, and Camilla had Charles give him titles and positions he wouldn’t have otherwise got without her.
I admire Charles and Camilla in one way, for staying committed to each other. If everyone thinks what Harry has done is “worse” than what they did, they’re deluded. He caused so much trouble, and that’s the foundation of Harry’s “repeating genetic mistakes” angle…Charles didn’t really have a choice then; it was a different world, different RF. Harry did, and look what they did to him for making that choice.
William especially wants his wife to be the first recent Queen Consort. I don’t think Charles and William are close, and I absolutely think this kind of nonsense matters to them.
I don’t think the picture is bad. Yes there are better pictures they could have used but I wouldn’t be surprised if their social media guy typed “Duchess of Cornwall” pictures into google images and just found a recent picture. Or maybe it was totally planned like the Daily Beast says.
I agree. THis seems mean spirited. SHe looks her age and I think she is a handsome woman. Would we all rather it was photoshopped or she got plastic surgery? We can only look like we look and hopefully be fine with it although posts like this and thier comments sections do their best to make us all paranoid about looking like ourselves.
True. Plus, Charles and Camilla clearly have a deep and longstanding love and respect for each other. They are the only ones besides the Queen and Philip to have that, until H&M came along…
I don’t think it’s a bad picture tho she is giving the grinch a run for his money. She’s never been a looker imo.
Same. It’s no worse than any other picture of Camilla. Her look is her look, and she’s never been considered conventionally attractive.
Doesn’t matter what Charles tries to do or does, Camilla will never be most peoples’ Queen. That should have been Diana’s title. UK peeps have very long memories…….
No, that’s not quite true, it gets muddled in time and titles. UK peeps object more to her being seen as “the Queen Mother” when William is King; Diana was never going to be queen, and that’s something she said herself; but she is always going to be Queen Mother to William…something Camilla can never be. And regardless of all this, it’s only this way because Diana died: there would be no question of it if she was alive, and she’d still be Queen Mother, and Camilla would still be “the second wife and THAT woman.” There’s more than one simple angle of this. I’m pretty sure now that if you did a poll, the UK’s acceptance of Camilla has done a 180 degree turn since the early days after Diana’s death.
I think this is as good a picture you’re going to get 🤷🏻♀️
I disagree. Camilla’s not a looker at all, but there are many pictures of her out there that are much nicer ones. This one makes her look like a giggling Grinch, and as someone who is related to petty ass people who do shit like this, it definitely strikes me as on purpose.
+1
It’s typical Kate, in my opinion. No woman gets a good photo on Waity Katie’s time.
Why would they post only on Twitter I wonder?
Sorry but Camilla’s smile in that pic reminds me Joker so much
Gosh lve seen Camilla have better days, l think this was deliberately put out there, u know de only ones they are embarrassing are themselves , Chambs showing themselves up yet again. u wouldn’t mind except those two bores wouldn’t hang in a gallery themselves !!
Has a divorced woman ever been qc?
Twenty plus years later and Camilla is still seen as getting her HRH dirty. This is where Charles made the mistake; he needs BOTH sons to support Camilla as queen. He won’t get it from Harry after how he treated his family and William is trying to push him off the throne. Fix those messes first.
unrelated: i’ve always wondered who the royal news is for at the daily beast. i can’t imagine the readers over there care much about british royal family drama.
William just looks so bored with Kate. He doesn’t like her. It’s sad really. But when you are almost king, you don’t get to just break up and meet someone new like most people. You just stay.
Also, I was doing some royal family research yesterday while rewatching the crown, and did you know Camilla is the great great grandchild of one of the previous King of Englands mistresses?! She’s related to Charles! I mean I know the queen was related to her husband too, but just wow. So incestuous.
That’s how most Royal families married up until the last century: intermarriage between each other’s Royal families.
The Russian Royals had a problem with hemophilia due to it, and the British had the infamous “Hapsburg Jaw” problem (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/distinctive-habsburg-jaw-was-likely-result-royal-familys-inbreeding-180973688/).
That’s how they got together. She mentioned how she was related to Alice Keppel and how she was a mistress of Edward VII and said she and Charles should give it a whirl.
They’re ninth cousins once removed, lol. Their one shared ancestor lived in the 1600s. I think they’ll be okay.
Elizabeth and Phillip’s generation was rather incestuous, but not nowadays.
The Cambridges are truly the definition of “ungracious”, right?
(I mean, they’re worse, but evidently they can’t help showing their nastiness even on the small stuff: not congratulating Italian president Mattarella, picking an unflattering pic for Camilla’s birthday… and their staff, who should know better, evidently cannot make them behave.)
It’s all Kate: never forget she’s a low class nobody whose mum was an air hostess and who “moved up the social ladder” by owning her own party supplies site. Yeah, right…
She’s got a fake accent and a position she isn’t qualified to be in. She is responsible for the ugliness.
Yeah that pic is a slap at her. She’s got way better pics. Whew
To be honest though. She is not an attractive woman. It’s not easy finding a “nice” picture.
You are correct lol
Correct!
Sorry but I’m still over here laughing at Kate saying “I wish her all the very best” about her barely-week-old infant niece
What am I missing? KP’s photo is fine. I see nothing wrong here.
I think we should all have outgrown monarchies by now, but in the interest of equality, all so-called “queen consort” should be made a princess in her own right. Consorts of queens are made princes because “king” is the highest title and a king is always the ruler, but “queen” indicates someone married to the king, but sometimes can rule in the absence of a legitimate male. Instead of Princess Consort, which would make her the consort of a Prince, why can’t she be promoted to Princess Camilla? Since only birth order, regardless of gender , now determines order of succession, it is perhaps time to change this whole consort notion.
At least this years photo centres her. They showed the photo the Cambridges used last year for Camilla’s birthday and it’s taken from that engagement where Kate is guffawing at something Charles is saying and Camilla is at the side barely in the actual photo.
Not a kind photo – and I love Camilla’s style. She is comfortable and herself.
That dark long skirt suit on Kate is heinous. Gah why do they let her pick her own clothes?
Does no one on her team or at the design houses know about proportions?
This is unusually aggravating me today bahahaha
It belongs on her top ten worst outfit list. It is hideous.
Honestly, Kaiser, I don’t think Charles has that sort of leverage over Wills. I also don’t think Chuck would give up anything because that would immediately undermine his reign. The country will go into a years long mourning when QEII dies. I mean these folks still talk about the Victorian age and she’s long gone. My prediction is Charles will have to placate everyone and hold on to his mother’s memory for as long as he can just to keep the crown relevant. No doubt he wants Camilla to be Queen, but it will be a fight with men in gray, the public, and his sons to make that happen. If he’s smart, he will bring Meghan and Harry back to the U.K. but… he’s not really a smart guy.
Lucky, “mean-spirited” is the credo of this family (aka cutthroat rivals). I’m actually surprised more of them aren’t dead because of the never-ending machinations.
I actually think Camilla looks fine for her age? The picture Kensington Palace is not flattering at all and was definitely intentional, it’s barely a step above posting a picture of Camilla with her eyes closed or making an unflattering facial expression as she talks. Someone mentioned above she looks like “the Joker’s sister” and now I can’t unsee it lol.
LMAO….OMG….
Now I can’t unsee it.
Queen Consort would arguably be less triggering than Princess re: the whole Diana connection.
What Charles got in return for William’s support for Camilla as Queen consort is to exile Harry & Meghan, strip Harry if his honorary military positions and give them to William so he can play soldier, cut off Harry & Meghan financially & remove their security before they can fund these themselves, keep Harry & Meghan exiled, and don’t make Archie & Lili prince and princesses.
Charles is going to be sorry he made that bargain with William if he isn’t right now. Joffrey 2.0 is using the press to shiv Charles and push him off the throne. Deep down I think William wants to punish Charles for not only cheating on their mother (only Billy will say his mother) but for him being teased at school for the War of the Windsors.
But….like are there any good pictures of her 🤷♀️.
There are significantly BETTER photos of her, like the one CH posted,