Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in pictures: Prince Charles’ wife celebrates 70th birthday
CAMILLA, the Duchess of Cornwall, celebrated her 70th birthday with hundreds of friends and family over the weekend. As Camilla celebrates the milestone birthday today, here is a look at her life in pictures.
The wife of Prince Charles celebrated with friends and family at a private party at Highgrove in Gloucestershire on Saturday and will spend her birthday with her family today.
Prince Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles were among 250 who attended the “warm family occasion”.
The Prince of Wales is understood to have paid tribute to his “darling wife” in a heartfelt speech at the party.
Camilla and Prince Charles also hosted a party in the Clarence House garden on Thursday, attended by friends, family, former staff, representatives from her charities, and celebrities.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in pictures: Prince Charles’ wife celebrates her 70th birthday
As the Duchess of Cornwall celebrates her birthday, here is a look at early photos of Camilla, her marriage to Prince Charles and her work for the royal family.
Camilla was born into the gentry and was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington before going away to study in Switzerland and France.
The royal later worked for firms in central London and went on to marry British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973.
The couple moved to Wiltshire and had two children - Tom and Laura - before their marriage fell apart, leading to their divorce in 1995.
Duchess of Cornwall in pictures: Camilla as a young bridesmaid in 1952
Duchess of Cornwall in pictures: Camilla marries Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973
The Duchess has weathered initial public hostility to her April 2005 marriage to Charles, eight years after the death of Diana in 1997.
Many blamed Camilla's affair with the Prince for the breakdown of his marriage to Princess Diana.
The black and white photograph below shows Camilla and the Duchess of Cornwall at Ludlow Races where Prince Charles was competing in 1980.
Duchess of Cornwall in pictures: Camilla and Diana at Ludlow Races in1980
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, has said that Camilla was “afraid” when she first felt the wrath of the public.
“She was very hurt and quite afraid to have that amount of vitriol aimed at her at first,” she said.
Camilla’s 70th birthday on Monday comes just a few weeks before the 20th anniversary of Diana’s tragic death in a car crash in Paris.
Duchess of Cornwall in pictures: Camilla and Charles in 1979
Since her marriage to Charles in 2005, Camilla has cemented her place in the Royal Family and it is believed that Charles wants to make her his Queen one day.
The couple are focusing on their charitable work this summer and have a series of engagements in Devon and Cornwall next week.
Will Camilla be Queen when Charles becomes King?
Camilla’s birthday comes as a new survey revealed that the Duchess is winning the hearts of the nation.
In 2005, just seven per cent of Britons wanted Camilla to take the title of ‘Queen’ when Charles becomes King. This figure has since shot up to 39 per cent.
However, Camilla will be known as Princess Consort, rather than Queen Consort, out of respect for the memory of Princess Diana.