Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom

[Sunnyhorse]

Have at it, y'all.

[Auroranorth]

I think Camilla has been doing a surprisingly good job of speaking out on a difficult issue. Domestic violence charities aren't a nice patronage like the Royal Academy of Dance, which is another one of hers.

Her speech

In 2013, The Duchess created a Wash Bag initiative, providing Sexual Assault Referral Centres (or SARCs) with wash bags, containing shampoo, shower gel and other toiletries, which are given to those referred to the centres to use after their forensic examinations. Following a successful pilot of the project, the scheme has since grown from a London based pilot of 750 bags to a national distribution partnership with Boots of over 10,000 wash bags. The Duchess attended its national launch in Nottingham in March 2017.

link

Good for her. Rape exams are hellish, and to have to go scrub down with institutional soap after that makes you feel even worse.

[Ridha]

Unpopular opinion that I held 20 years ago, which has only recently become, while not popular but accepted, is - I like Camilla. I like Charles. I disliked Diana. I thought she was the epitome of a manipulative victim for whom the narrative and public opinion was all, and thought it was crazy how easily people bought into that. Charles and Camilla in contrast, apart from having higher intellects, just seem like more straightforward people, and Charles in particular seems to have done smart and worthy work in the Duchies, the Prince’s Trust, and environment. I like that Camilla’s getting her own thread and that she seems to have weathered the worst of public opinion both on and off this board (stark difference between the first and last page of the old thread. I also never got the horse comparisons, I think she’s perfectly attractive, not a stunner, but fine. I can see a bit of the horse thing if it had been about Anne, or one of the other members whose name escapes me (maybe Margaret’s daughter?) but I never saw it on Camilla. I recall my Mil’s friend told me a few years ago when the subject of the 3 somehow came up, how she was part of the crowd who held black balloons outside their civil ceremony. I didn’t say anything as I was newly married, and didn’t want to antagonise anyone on my in-laws side lol, but what a horrible thing to do and how horrid for Camilla to have seen. It’s admirable that she never created a huge fuss on the vitriol against her (especially in contrast to the Harkles) but just kept at it in a low key way and eventually changed opinion. I also think their marriage is really sweet, she and Charles seem to genuinely enjoy each others company.

[romanova]

I've always liked Camilla, (but then she wasn't sleeping with my husband) and think she never looked lovelier than the day she married Charles. She strikes me as very earthy and approachable and she seems to have carried herself impeccably, at least publicly, since their wedding day. I also liked Diana very much and wish she had never crossed paths with the likes of Dodi al-Fayed. She was anything but intellectual, but it is impossible to overstate Diana's gift for comforting and humanizing people on the margins. Two very different women who found ways to make a positive difference and I think both of them deserved happiness.

[gremlin45]

Add me to the list of those who like Camilla. I honestly think it's a shame Charles married Diana. I think she was far too young for him and her issues were made worse by her situation. I bet there was an extreme lack of understanding from the RF, and she was probably told to just get over it.

Camilla and Charles seem far more suited to each other. They certainly seem far happier together.

[featherhat]

I was too young to really be that aware of the Wars of the Wales as they were going on, although I vividly remember the breaking news that Charles and Diana were officially going to divorce so that probably helps with my perception of Camilla but I've always liked her since they got married.

I thought she looked great on her wedding day and I'm glad that she uses the Duchess of Cornwall title as it allowed her to make it her own. And she seems like a Duchess: A woman comfortable in the country with loads of dogs who would be great to have a few G&Ts with.

I have been impressed that she has taken on some meaty "unsexy" patronages over the years and really championed them, especially domestic abuse which is still not talked about as much as it should be.

As I said on the other thread, everything else aside it can't be easy to go from someone who hasn't ever really worked to starting a new career at nearly 60.

[Deleted]

Oct 29, 2021 4:10:54 GMT -4 gremlin45 said:

Add me to the list of those who like Camilla. I honestly think it's a shame Charles married Diana. I think she was far too young for him and her issues were made worse by her situation. I bet there was an extreme lack of understanding from the RF, and she was probably told to just get over it.

Camilla and Charles seem far more suited to each other. They certainly seem far happier together.

I agree with most of this, but I'm still judgy on both of them for the extended adultery-- her, because of being married at the time, and Charles not even attempting to end it while getting engaged and then married to Diana. I get the whole BRF history and that he didn't think he'd be able to marry a divorcee but I still think it was gross. If their cheated-on partners had been ok with it, that'sa different story, but that's not how it played out. And the way everyone knew about it and conspired to ignore it and keep Diana in the dark or convince her it was just too bad, adds to the wrongness of it. It's just humiliating and disrespectful to your partner. Imo.

Also, I assume Camilla's husband wasn't ok with it either because they got divorced years before C&D did.

[madrugada]

I have never, ever liked* Camilla. But I think her work against domestic violence and crimes against women is outstanding, and she deserves respect for standing up and speaking up.

*My issue with the whole Charles - Diana - Camilla triangle was that Diana went into the marriage as an exceptionally sheltered/naive 19YO. I think she really believed in the fairy tale and was too young and insecure to fight for her marriage on an adult level. Her insecurities and whatever emotional/psychological issues she had led her down foolish paths.

What really disgusts me to the core is that Charles knew he didn't love her, I'm sure knew that she loved him and believed it was a real marriage, and cynically went ahead with it. I don't excuse him because he felt pressured or rushed by Prince Philip or whomever. And he continued the affair with Camilla throughout. I have the same objection to her - just shitty behavior from two much older and more mature people.

That said, I applaud Camilla for her work, and especially the speech she gave at Shameless.

[gremlin45]

Oct 29, 2021 8:29:40 GMT -4 @stargirl said:

I agree with most of this, but I'm still judgy on both of them for the extended adultery-- her, because of being married at the time, and Charles not even attempting to end it while getting engaged and then married to Diana. I get the whole BRF history and that he didn't think he'd be able to marry a divorcee but I still think it was gross. If their cheated-on partners had been ok with it, that'sa different story, but that's not how it played out. And the way everyone knew about it and conspired to ignore it and keep Diana in the dark or convince her it was just too bad, adds to the wrongness of it. It's just humiliating and disrespectful to your partner. Imo.

Also, I assume Camilla's husband wasn't ok with it either because they got divorced years before C&D did.

I think the whole affair was completely shady and C&C made a mess of 4+ lives over it. Charles should have stood his ground in the 60s and married Camilla then.

I still like them, despite that.

[Ladybug]

I don't think Camilla wanted to marry Charles when they were first together. She was fond of Charles, but she was madly in love with Andrew Parker-Bowles, who was apparently unfaithful to her. By the time Charles was getting married to Diana, he and Camilla were "close" again and definitely having an emotional affair if not a physical one. People also forget that Charles had other "friendships" with women outside of his marriage, and Camilla was not the only one. Charles was NEVER going to be faithful to Diana because he saw it as perfectly normal for the heir to have mistresses, in addition to the fact that they were not suited to each other and she had mental and emotional problems that he was not at all equipped to help her with. Over the years he and Camilla developed a bond that could not be broken, but it was not an instant thing. That's an easy way to tell the story on The Crown, but it was more complicated and was simmering for years.

The press had a perfect narrative set up with Camilla vs. Diana and Diana absolutely knew this. I totally understanding her being angry and using whatever resources at her disposal. Camilla willingly had an affair with her husband. The press struck gold taking the earthy "troll" Camilla and setting her up against beautiful and sensitive Diana. Hollywood could not write a story this perfect, which is why we're getting all these Diana movies, tv shows, and *gag* a broadway musical.

Camilla was absolutely 100% humiliated in the British press for years, with some of the most misogynistic stories I have ever read. She never acknowledged it or said a word about it, she lived her life. When she married Charles, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. She was friendly to the reporters showing up to her events. She took up unpopular causes. And many years later, most people like her or at least acknowledge that she's done a good job. Charle's press secretaries certainly helped rehab her image, but she put in the work too.

So my hot take - I like Diana and I like Camilla. Two imperfect women with their flaws and strengths.