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Camilla has brought together loyal band of women as ‘companions’ to support her during her reign as Queen.
But much of her developing popularity derives from her closeness to another member of the Royal circle – Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Camilla’s entrance into the family had been tricky, particularly after her affair with Charles became a public matter.
It has been reported that, at one point, the Queen told her eldest son: ‘I want nothing to do with her.’
But with time, that changed. Camilla gained favour with her mother-in-law – and her image softened further as she took Kate under her wing.
Camilla, now Queen, took Kate under her wing before her marriage to William
Camilla was a helpful guide for Kate as she prepared for her wedding in 2011 (pictured leaving Clarence House together for the evening celebrations after William and Kate’s wedding)
Camilla taught Kate to focus on the faces of cameramen she recognised so as to make her appear more at ease in photographs
Even before Kate’s marriage to William, Camilla had offered guidance her on royal dos and don’ts and shared details of her favourite beauticians.
Two months before Kate’s royal wedding in 2011, Camilla took her out for a girls’ lunch at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge with her daughter, Laura, and Kate’s sister, Pippa.
One diner recalled overhearing Camilla say to Kate: ‘If I can give you one bit of advice…’ as they discussed the details of the wedding.
They added: ‘They were all getting on very well and they clearly hadn’t asked for an out-of-the-way table and nor did they attempt to lower their voices.
‘There was one moment which was clearly meant to be amusing when Kate said “what happens if William doesn’t turn up?”‘
There were several ‘hand-holding’ occasions in the build-up to the big day.
Camilla suggested that her own manicurist Marina Sandoval from the Jo Hansford hair salon in Mayfair give Kate a £36 ‘signature manicure’ before the event.
Camilla is said to have intervened when Kate was considering wearing flowers in her hair on her wedding day, suggesting a tiara would be more appropriate.
She gave Kate a highly personal wedding gift: a gold charm-style bracelet with a small disc engraved with Catherine’s cyphers and hers.
The bracelet, which features two large ‘C’s under a coronet with Camilla’s surrounded by a circle, is similar to a piece worn by Camilla which she rarely takes off.
Kate Nicholl, Vanity Fair’s Royal Editor, explained on a Channel 5 documentary how Camilla became a rock for both Kate and Meghan when they became engaged to her stepsons, William and Harry.
‘Kate didn’t know how to be royal, so she would have been an outsider. She was pursued by the press and Camilla knew how that felt,’ said Ms Nicholl.
‘In many ways, Camilla had paved the way for Meghan. Camilla would have been there to tell her not to take any criticism personally, but this is just what happens when you’re an outsider,’ she added.
Kate, seen with King Charles and Camilla, was also able to talk to Camilla about charity work
The image of Camilla sitting down to eat with Kate, a princess-in-waiting, has an echo of an earlier lunch organised – 30 years previously – by Camilla with Charles’ wife-to-be, Diana.
The invitation, signed off ‘Lots of Love, Camilla’, was a welcome relief for Diana, who had just left the flat she shared with three friends to move into Clarence House. The aim was to make her feel at ease.
Camilla’s mentorship of Kate extended beyond the wedding.
She also helped Kate learn how to deal with more prickly members of the family, such as Princess Anne and taught her, for example, to focus on the faces of cameramen she recognised to make her seem more at ease in photographs.
Kate was also able to talk to Camilla about charity work, discussing the idea of Kate helping a specific charity intensively for a limited time of one or two years during special appeals.
When Kate became a chatelaine of Kensington Palace, Camilla was on hand to help, warning her that the couple would need a minimum staff of a butler, a housekeeper, a ladies’ dresser, a valet, a cook, chauffeur plus several other workers.
One close family friend told The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay how important Camilla’s help had been, bearing in mind William’s lack of capability in that direction.
‘At the best of times, the royal men just don’t have much sensitivity when it comes to helping ease new members into the royal life,’ said the friend. ‘They’re not unkind – they just don’t think.’
By cultivating a relationship with Camilla, Kate has reportedly helped smooth over the at times tense relationship between William and his father, King Charles.
In her book Camilla: From Outcast to Future Queen Consort, Angela Levin said that the Princess of Wales made real effort to spend time with both her husband’s father and his stepmother, making Kate the family’s ‘peacemaker’.
Friction supposedly arose between William and his father and Camilla, now Queen Consort, after the pair married in 2005.
By cultivating a friendship with Camilla, Kate has reportedly helped smooth over tensions in the relationship between William and his father
Kate has used their shared interests, including a love of the arts, to bond with the couple, meeting up with them by herself – without William in tow.
‘Fortunately, time helped improve Camilla’s relationship with senior Royals, including Prince William, largely thanks to the Princess of Wales, who is a peacemaker,’ says Ms Levin, a former Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday journalist.
‘Camilla is also a conciliator and doesn’t nurse grievances. They both believe that supporting their husbands is a priority.
‘Catherine has a love of the arts, which William doesn’t particularly share. She often goes both privately and publicly with the Queen Consort and King Charles to see exhibitions.’
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