Prince Charles’s longtime companion Camilla Parker Bowles reached the age of 55 on Wednesday, in a year that has proved a good one for the divorced mother of two.
Camilla has marked a number of milestones in the last seven months, the most recent of which being a gesture of affection, captured on film, of her hand in hand with the Prince as the two left a charity fundraiser. While for most couples such a tender touch might pass without notice, for Charles and Camilla the public display made front page news.
Though the Prince of Wales and his companion are frequently seen at social functions together these days, the most significant sight was of Camilla sharing the royal box with the royal family at June’s classical music concert to fete the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The invitation to the gala – apparently made by the monarch without Charles’s prior knowledge – marked the first time the couple had appeared in public with the Queen.
The increasingly visible romance between the two seems a natural progression as Camilla has taken a similar step forward in her public life. Last spring, just after a poll showed that a majority of Britons think Camilla should marry the Prince – an indication of the public’s growing support for her – she raised her profile once more by becoming president of the National Osteoporosis Society.
In her first public engagement, she spoke of her own family’s experience with the disease to an intimate audience of 80, including Dame Maggie Smith and author Jilly Cooper, at London’s Ritz Hotel. And in May, Camilla attended the international conference on osteoporosis in Lisbon, invited by the event’s organiser, Queen Rania of Jordan.
Meanwhile, in her private life, it seems Camilla may eventually take a permanent place at Charles’s side. Many speculate a wedding to the Prince of Wales is on the cards in the near future, especially in light of the recent decision by the Church of England to lift the ban on divorcés remarrying in church.
In fact, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury has indicated he will give his blessing to the Prince and his love. Senior aides to Dr Rowan Williams, currently Archbishop of Wales, say he believes the longtime companions should be “treated as any other couple”. Although he has refused to be drawn on Charles and Camilla’s case, he has remarked: “I’ve said before that I’m not absolutely opposed to the remarrying of divorcés in churches.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
