Sthey are a solid and happy couple, with two failed marriages behind them – he with Lady Diana, she with Andrew Parker Bowles – but strong in a love story (theirs) that began in the early Seventies. And a new biography of King Charles III confirms it: in private, and not only, the 75-year-old sovereign and his wife, Queen Camilla, 76, behave like any other couple. Bickering included.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla complement each other
For his new biography Charles III: New King, New Court (Charles III: New King, New Court), out in British bookstores, the royal watcher Robert Hardman interviewed Camilla’s sister, Annabel Elliot, who revealed: «They are like any couple who have been together for a long time. They share many funny moments but they also have different habits… They are like yin and yang. They have polar opposite characters, yet they get along very well. A sense of humor is important. She makes him laugh».
Carlo and Camilla’s daily “bickerings”.
The king’s sister-in-law told that, when they are at home, in London’s Clarence House, in the country villa of Highgrove, or in the Scottish refuge of Birkhall, the two often “argue” due to different habits or preferences. For example, Camilla likes to have a heated house «like a sauna», but Carlo prefers to keep the windows open to let the air circulate. When her husband turns or leaves the room, Camilla rushes to close the windows. As soon as Carlo notices it, he opens them again, limiting himself to commenting: «Dear, you closed the window». And she: «Yes, because we are all freezing here» and so on.
King Charles and the Queen enjoy themselves at the Ascot horse races, June 2023 (Getty Images)
Camilla’s positive influence on King Charles III
The queen knows how to calm her hot-tempered husband. When he gets angry about something that went wrong, she knows how to defuse the situation with a smile, a laugh and a comforting word. But if Charles does something to spite her, she has no qualms about making fun of the King of England, even going so far as to hit him (affectionately) with her purse.
Abba, what a passion!
In his book, Robert Hardman also reveals Camilla’s penchant for Abba’s music. The new queen loves ballet and ballroom dancing but, when he hears the first notes of a song by the Swedish group, he can’t resist and goes wild. In December 2022 you also attended theAbba Voyagea performance in virtual reality in London. And on that occasion she too started dancing, dragging her grandchildren who had accompanied her.
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