Happy Birthday Ma'am

Candid, convivial and with a great sense of humour… as the Duchess of Cornwall turns 70, Kathy Lette spills the beans on the real Camilla

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The first time I met Camilla Parker Bowles at a party about 15 years ago, I enquired about the pressures of being in the myopic gaze of the media spotlight. Camilla immediately endeared herself to me by revealing how well-meaning American matriarchs, taking pity on her weathered complexion, constantly posted their cosmetic surgeons’ details. Instead of taking umbrage, Camilla chortled, self-deprecatingly, their efforts only serving to give her more laughter lines.

I hadn’t expected the future Queen of England to be more disarming than a UN peace-keeping force, but reading between those lines that day, what I saw was warmth, wit, compassion and great strength of character. Camilla would never want a facial expression by taxidermy. Her animated countenance is alight with curiosity, perspicacity and amusement. This is a woman at home in her skin and at ease with herself.

Sandringham & Spanx

The public perception of a royal is someone who speaks in a voice brittle enough to qualify for osteoporosis pills, in an accent sharp enough to shave your legs with. Well, Camilla is their antithesis. Candid, convivial and upbeat, she punctures pomposity with a wry aside or comic quip. Whenever we’ve met, I’ve noticed how she treats everyone the same, from maid to monarch. The future Queen has a talent for making people relax in her company. Despite my Republican tendencies, this is why I like HRH so much – because she’s a class act, not swayed by class.