Here are more photos of Queen Camilla’s big day out in Bath, England. She really did have a day full of events – she did the 850th anniversary event for her patronage, St. John’s Foundation, she visited the almshouses, she went to church, she went on a walkabout and she did like five other things too. She grinned like a Cheshire cat the whole time and I swear to god, she’s positively glowing, she’s so happy. At her events, she was asked about her husband’s condition and she confirmed that King Charles is “recovering well, thank you.” She also talked about how “eating your own vegetables is incredibly special” and how much she loves to putter around the gardens at Highgrove. What’s weird about that is I’m pretty sure that Charles has a huge team of professional gardeners tending to the Highgrove gardens. Camilla has her own gardens at Ray Mill, but she probably didn’t want to remind everyone that she keeps her own separate home. Please, she’s having too much fun. Speaking of, Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair had some exclusive quotes about how Buckingham Palace staffers are incredibly grateful that Camilla is holding down the fort and that she’s the last royal standing.

With King Charles on leave, sources close to the royal family have been keen to point out Camilla’s “extraordinary” level of commitment to her duties. “The Queen has been pretty remarkable,” one source told Vanity Fair. “While her husband has been in hospital she was by his side and also making sure she didn’t neglect her own duties. She is incredibly committed and doesn’t want to let anyone down even though as a family they are going through a challenging time. She is 76 and one of the hardest working members of the family. She never complains, she just gets on with the work and always with a smile on her face.”

The royal family is currently having to scale back its engagements with three senior royal royals off work; King Charles, who is expected to be back at work soon, Kate Middleton, who is recovering from abdominal surgery following 13 days in hospital, and Prince William, who has taken a break from work to support his wife and care for their three children.

“Throughout, Camilla has been there with a smile on her face and reassuring words for well-wishers,” added the source. “Her stoicism has always been known to her close friends, but it is also earning her a huge amount of respect and admiration at the palace and I think among the public.”

While it was always the late Queen Elizabeth’s mantra to “keep calm and carry on,” the same can be said of Queen Camilla. “She is the quiet power behind the throne,” another source added. “It’s remarkable that she was once blamed for nearly bringing the monarchy down when in fact now it is she is keeping the show on the road.”

[From Vanity Fair]

I wonder if some (not all, but some) of Camilla’s giddiness and visible joy is simply that she’s doing all of these solo events and she gets to do things her way, without having to do all of that emotional upkeep on Charles’s ego. They always make Camilla sound like Charles’s handler/nanny – she has to soothe him and comfort him and help him when he has a tantrum. Now that she doesn’t have to waste all of that energy on Charles’s moods, she’s actually enjoying herself and enjoying these events. As I said, that’s only part of the story. She’s also enjoying some secret knowledge, some scheme which she’s executing flawlessly. Whatever is happening behind the scenes, Camilla is not only going to come out of it smelling like a rose, she’s going to be much more powerful than ever before.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.