Charles & Camilla: How has your opinion changed since the wedding?


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Ok--let's look at this objectively--let's just say that Camilla is happy being obedient to her husband, never working, not having opinions about the world, and lettering her man and her children be the center of her world----what's wrong with that? If that makes anyone happy, why criticize that decision? Our society today criticizes women who choose to devote their lives to their families and volunteer work and make them feel like they are not contributing because they're at home.
That being said--I don't get that particular feeling from the Duchess. I think she probably has strong opinions about a multitude of things (a woman who fox hunts is not exactly faint-hearted) but here is the difference between Camilla and Diana---Camilla understands that Charles will be King, and she understands and appreciates the responsibility he has to that role. Thusly, she understands her responsibility to him in his role. Just because she smiles and makes small talk with people and performs her duties elegantly and respectfull, that makes her unopiniated? That's silly--does the Queen ever say anything deep and life-changing when chatting with the crowds? No--she has perfected the art of small talk--and I don't thin we call her the sort of person who is obedient to her husband, never worked, not much opinions,etc....Camilla is following the Queen's lead on decorum and behavior--and I think that is the way it should be done.
As for what Camilla thinks of Charles' work--I highly doubt that they would still be together if she didn't have positive things to say--reading the transcripts of Camillagate you will see that they have a wonderfully, loving relationship based on respect not lack of opinions.
 
Was Camilla's Makeover to do anything to change public opinion of her or was it all in the name preparing her for her role as Queen? If not those reasons then perhaps someone could explain from a British standpoint?
 
Well I think Camilla have her opinions about matters however she is sensible enough to keep it in her own closest circles only. I think Prince Charles always treats Camilla as his equal and only obedience is not enough to make him think like this. That's why I find their relationships are really interesting because he always play a real man image in their relationship and her own feminine while free-spirit nature balance his possible too-gentle nature in most male cultures.

I think Camilla is not well educated but she is intelligent to understand the topics she interests and which interests her man. I believe that her encourgement even her joint effort with Charles behind scenes make the man he is now. Her obedience is just to make lives peaful and easy for them after all Charles is really stressful about being the Prince Charles. She is just the woman who is willing to try everything to make him happy.
 
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The overall impression Camilla gave me just like my grandmother, who was very obedient to her husband, never work, not much opinions about the world, the center of her world was her man and her children.

When a wife has a supporting role to her husband and is a good mother it does not mean that she has´not much opinion of the world´. If you have this pic of your grandmother, it´s your problem. But i think to make this pic of Camilla is absolutely wrong.
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Btw, it´s very interesting, when i read the posts of yesterday in this thread, how someone who often write very harsh comments always is the first one to complain when the response to this post contains not the most polite words. I think it has not so much to do whether you are a native speaker or not. My English too is not so good but i never had this kind of problem, most of the posters here are very tolerant and polite!:rolleyes::flowers:
 
I am certain that Camilla has her own thoughts, opinions and feelings, she just doesn't choose to share them with the media and therefore the general public. Even through some awful times, when she was being ripped apart by the press, she never spoke out, never asked anyone to speak out on her behalf. She saw the damage Diana inflicted with her 'reality' show style. More than anything Camilla comes from a stiff upper lip background.

I have always felt that Camilla realises that in public she is there to support her husband, much as any wife is. In private I am equally certain they discuss everything and manage to laugh off many of the things written about them. Unless couples talk and listen to one another, (even when they have vastly different opinions), about their hopes, fears, interests, annoyances, beliefs, work and dreams, they can't survive as a couple. All IMO of course. :flowers:
 
Was Camilla's Makeover to do anything to change public opinion of her or was it all in the name preparing her for her role as Queen? If not those reasons then perhaps someone could explain from a British standpoint?
How 'bout "D": all of the above??
Personally, I would like to have a make over about twice a year! I think every woman should to keep their spirits up and to look their best!
 
Was Camilla's Makeover to do anything to change public opinion of her or was it all in the name preparing her for her role as Queen? If not those reasons then perhaps someone could explain from a British standpoint?
The 'makeover', was I think what any of us would indulge in when we change our 'job'. I may go into the village in jodphurs, no make up, hair tied up, but if I am going to the theatre or into the town, I dress accordingly. Now that she is constantly in the public eye, she dresses appropriately. :flowers:
 
My opinion and reflection

I'll try to answer the question in the thread. My opinion hasn't changed since the wedding. The entire time it's been a good opinion and I was happy that the two of them finally got married. I don't observe them on a regular basis as I don't live in the UK but as far as I know the couple is happy and Camilla is carrying out her duties in an excellent way.
When Diana was still alive I hated Camilla Parker-Bowles and saw her as the worst cad in the world: vulgar, ugly, annoying and rude. My opinion was formed by the newspapers articles and those books which chose to glorify Diana and write bad stuff on the other woman. After Dianas death Camilla kind of didn't exist in my head until I heard that she and Charles got engaged. As I myself got more mature as did my opinion about the eternal lovers. I realised that love has a great power and Charles and Camilla's case showed us all that real love can survive anything. I was really touched that these two people managed to keep their love alive for so many years and under so difficult circumstances. It cannot be easy to maintain a relationship like theirs: forbidden, cursed and criticized by the whole world. And of course - whilst being in another relationship (pushed onto you by other people) with children (that you love of course). When I found out that Charles and Camilla would marry I thought immediately that there must have been a meaning with the death of Diana. The day of their wedding I sat in front of my TVset and cried as I saw the Prince and the Duchess (for me - undoubtedly worth the title the Princess) take their vows in spite of all the weirdness of the whole situation with the City Hall and the Queen absent and this strange, artificial Service of Prayers after the civil wedding... I saw love triumph that day. It inspired me and gave me hope for my private life as well. I admire Charles and Camilla for not giving up, for making it through. How often don't we abandon our loved once just because the situation is uncomfortable? How often don't we break up because we aren't able to maintain a lon-distance relationship?
So to sum up - as I've also read the thread on King Charles and Queen Camilla - I doubt whether these two actually care what their titles or styles will actually be after the accession. I think they will happily do as the public wishes and then just live together, work together and support each other. And that is in my opinion the best proof of their class and of course their great eternal affection for each other. :wub:
 
My opinion about Camilla has changed somewhat.

She always had traits that I admired. One is that she paid most attention to the relationships closest to her rather than focus on public opinion and I thought that was much stronger than Diana's approach to focus on her public image and trying to help people who were far away while her relationships to her nearest and dearest were in serious trouble. I also admired Camilla's grit in sticking to the relationships and the people that mattered to her in the face of overwhelming negative opinions. That denoted strength of character to me and I always thought it would be great to have a friend like that.

I can understand people saying that Camilla wasn't a strong character to be willing to hurt Diana so much but by the time Camilla started getting negative press, Diana had cooperated with the Andrew Morton book and I think she had started work on the Panorama interview which are two accusations against the Royal Family that I think she knew would destroy the marriage even if there had been no Camilla. Also Diana had had her own liaisons with James Hewitt and Diana's behavior when she was with Charles made me think that Charles was the last person that Diana wanted to be with. So I don't think that Camilla was stealing Diana's ability to enjoy the love and comfort of being with Charles because I don't Diana would have had comfort in Charles' company even without Camilla.

I also liked the idea that Camilla seemed to have a much stronger self-confidence than Charles and Diana put together even with the extreme negative press and I would love to have that strong of a self-confidence. I thought that her self-confidence and her easy assurance that everything would turn out alright was the perfect antidote to Charles' crisis of confidence and his hesitation. I also thought that Charles would benefit from having a wife who would have the courage to tell him 'OK Charlie enough of the whining' as I know that Diana would have benefitted from a man willing to tell her the simple truth every once in awhile.

But I have noticed that Camilla may be hesitant to give Charles the truth sometimes. I don't know if she still sees him as a wounded bear that she has to prop up but I think her biggest strength is her no-nonsense approach with those that are closest to her and the more she has to curtail that the less she shines.

I think she is totally right about supporting Charles in public and to be fair a lot of the consorts like Queen Paola, Queen Sonja, are cut out of the same mold and do a wonderful job. I think in public a supportive wife is very helpful and makes the monarchy stronger but I wish that Camilla would show her strength with Charles a little more in private so she can influence him especially in the areas where he makes his opinions known. I think if she is willing to let her repuation go by the wayside, she could help him develop a public relations that make people more comfortable with the fact that he will be King.

The truth be known, Charles will be the one to ascend the throne and if his reputation with the British public is strong then the people will accept whatever Queen he decides to present to them. Diana was very successful at destroying part of his reputation with the British people but I don't think the situation with Charles' reputation is unsalvageable because he has a lot of concerns (environment, losing what it means to be British) that a lot of people have.

I don't think Charles has the knowledge and understanding of public relations to be able to turn things around himself but I do think that Camilla is a bit more world saavy and could help Charles even if she didn't want to help herself. And I think its totally appropriate that she tow the line in public but I don't think she needs to prop him up so much in private.
 
And I think its totally appropriate that she tow the line in public but I don't think she needs to prop him up so much in private.

Why do you think that she doesn't tell him the truth once in a while? I have the impression that Charles' public appearances have improved a lot since he is out with Camilla. She seems to have shown him for example that sometimes a bit of a impromptu reaction is very valuable - at least I read about quite some incidents lately where the prince adapted his programme spontaneously to interact with the public more.

That may be because since he married he must have seen that his reception by the public became warmer and so he might be more inclined to "dare" a bit more.
 
I didn´t like her before and I don´t like her now. As a matter of fact they are for me one of the least liked couples of all the royal families (reigning and non reigning).
 
I didn´t like her before and I don´t like her now. As a matter of fact they are for me one of the least liked couples of all the royal families (reigning and non reigning).

Is the reason you don't like Camilla and/or Charles because of your strong feelings for Diana or something more substantial, that being politics, parenting, public image, choice of patronages? Etc.....
 
Al_Bina, why are you apologizing for not adoring the Duchess of Cornwall?

You've already said that you prefer more ethereal ladies which makes it totally understandable why Diana is the type of woman you admire and Camilla is not. There is nothing wrong in that.
Dear ysbel,
[FONT=&quot]As stated previously, I liked Princess Diana for her ability to choose right outfits that would enhance her look (e.g., the red-and-black pied de poule (or houndstooth) outfit she wore for one of the Christmas services in Sandringham). At the same time, sense of style is not enough for me to admire a particular public person. Moreover, I dare to note that Princess Diana is not exactly what I see as an ethereal beauty with sophisticated, yet simple sense of style. In my personal subjective opinion, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Mathilde of Belgium are the only ladies, who meet my description of ethereal, sophisticated, and simple. [/FONT]
 
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[FONT=&quot]In my personal subjective opinion, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Mathilde of Belgium are the only ladies, who meet my description of ethereal, sophisticated, and simple. [/FONT]
We can certainly agree on Audrey Hepburn! :flowers:
 
My opinion of Camilla has definitely changed, I have to say she has done an exceptional job with her new role. I often thought that Diana was really not for Charles since they were from 2 different worlds and the fact that there was a difference in age.They really didnt have much in common. I know that most thought of Camilla as the enemy during the Diana days but I have to admit that she has been and is the perfect match for Charles. They have so much in common and they are closer in age. She is definitely not out for her own glory and seems quite content being a wife and step-mother. Its obvious that Charles adores her and is so happy with her, it was meant to be. Its too bad that they didnt have the opportunity to be together in the past. If circumstances had been different they probably would have been married with children of their own and maybe some grandchildren as well. I have to commend Camilla for doing such an excellent job at being the best wife and "mother" to those kids. Im glad that they are happy and I wish them all the love, joy and contentment for many years to come. Camilla will make an excellent queen and Charles will be a better king with her at his side.:flowers:
 
I'm sure he will be a much better king with Camilla at his side. I think Camilla helps him a lot being more self confident. Kind of like Queen Mum was supportive of King George VI and helped him being more self confident.
 
I'm sure he will be a much better king with Camilla at his side. I think Camilla helps him a lot being more self confident. Kind of like Queen Mum was supportive of King George VI and helped him being more self confident.

That is a wonderful comparison!
 
^ I don't know. Maybe. But to me, Charles never seemed to lack confidence. I know he has a self-effacing humor and people say he is insecure or whatever. But in public engagements he always seemed very much like his parents in being assuredly engaged with the people, speaking with confidence about many topics. Far from being shy and nervous like his grandfather, he seems to me much more like his father than popular press give him credit for.

That said, in fairness, it still is possible that Camilla boosts his confidence even more. She probably does only have the best effect on him, being she makes him feel loved and everything.
 
I didn't mean that Charles is insecure, but I was responding that I thought that the comparison between the Queen Mother and Camilla as being supportive for their husbands was what I was applauding. I don't think Charles is shy insecure or whatever--I find him quite confident, actually, but I see him much happier now because he truly has a partner in Camilla, not just wife. That is how I saw Charles grandmother and grandfather--as partners in it for the long haul, come thick or thin. I see that same type of partnership between Charles and Camilla
 
I didn't mean that Charles is insecure, but I was responding that I thought that the comparison between the Queen Mother and Camilla as being supportive for their husbands was what I was applauding. I don't think Charles is shy insecure or whatever--I find him quite confident, actually, but I see him much happier now because he truly has a partner in Camilla, not just wife. That is how I saw Charles grandmother and grandfather--as partners in it for the long haul, come thick or thin. I see that same type of partnership between Charles and Camilla

I think one of the things Prince Charles grew to loathe about Princess Diana was how she stole the spotlight from him. There's no "Camilla-Mania" to detract from him and that seems to allow for smoother running.
 
I think that Charles and Camilla function as a team, whereas Charles and Diana did not. If you can work as a team, it makes for a better marriage -- just look at the difference between Charles first and second.
 
I think one of the things Prince Charles grew to loathe about Princess Diana was how she stole the spotlight from him. There's no "Camilla-Mania" to detract from him and that seems to allow for smoother running.

A lot of husbands are quite happy with the way others adore their beautiful wifes. Charles seemed to be one of those at first and joked about the Di-mania. The problem IMHO was how Diana dealt with that. She used the public adoration she got as an argument why she should be treated equally adoring in her private life, especially by Charles. But Charles needed a partner working alongside him not someone who needed constant spoiling. So Diana used the public adoration she got to abuse (on telling him that the public was only interested in her) and embarrass him by upstaging him and taking away the limelight when Charles had a public event for a cause he cared about.

While Camilla in addition to Charles at an event makes for better headlines. I doubt eg that the visit to Chinatown would have gotten so much public notice if it wasn't for Camilla allowing the photographers to take her picture alongside of that ugly dragon. This pic was so irrestistable for the picture editors that this visit was much reported about - normally the public does not get so much reporting on Charles' visits.
 
I think he became less secure with Diana's interviews and books, I also think he was puzzled by 'shy Di's' flirting with the media and the public.

What we see now is a return to the pre Diana confidence and belief in himself, brought about by marriage to an equal partner. Someone he knows won't throw a wobbly if he disagrees with her, a woman who will tell him to ****** off if he is being unreasonable and to whom he can do the same! :lol:

What we are seeing now is a truly happy man! :wub:
 
Why do you think that she doesn't tell him the truth once in a while? I have the impression that Charles' public appearances have improved a lot since he is out with Camilla. She seems to have shown him for example that sometimes a bit of a impromptu reaction is very valuable - at least I read about quite some incidents lately where the prince adapted his programme spontaneously to interact with the public more.

That may be because since he married he must have seen that his reception by the public became warmer and so he might be more inclined to "dare" a bit more.

I agree with your last statement Jo. I just think that Charles is looking happier and more at ease because Camilla is better suited for him but I don't necessarily think that means she tells things to him straight in private.

As I said, I always got the impression that she was no nonsense but I recently saw the transcripts of the Camilla-gate transcripts and in that conversation she did seem like she had to prop him up too much. It did remind me a bit of the tone that James Gilbey took with Diana in the Squidgygate tapes.

There are other things but they don't come to mind now.
 
A lot of husbands are quite happy with the way others adore their beautiful wifes.

Yep, I agree with that! The evidence abounds. Certainly, Charles seems delighted by the positive response from the public (not talking about press, rather the public whom the couple meet on engagements) regarding Camilla. He always seems so proud by the way she gets on with people they meet.
I also agree with you that he was like with Diana, at least in the early days. I think of their Australia trip as particular evidence. Diana and Charles had a very sweet rapport between them on the Australia tour.
 
I was really unhappy with the marrage at first and I'm still not thrilled with it but they look very happy together and thats all that counts in the end.
 
Charles is a royal that never really interested me; I never really got all the interest in Diana either TBH, but I found myself getting curious about him shortly after they announced that he and Camilla were to marry. I, perhaps because of the way she was portrayed in the media, always (unfairly) thought very little of Camilla but when she and Charles came out of the church and walked around greeting the people I found myself very drawn to her. There was something so charismatic and natural about her and because of the impression that this simple walk-about left on me, I have found myself quite interested in both her and Charles. I won’t be as active in researching their current events as some of you but if I do see something written about them I will take the time to read it, which I never did before. I never had any real problem with Charles because he cheated on Diana, I just never warmed to him but marring Camilla has changed that. I guess you could say that the interest that Diana caused many people to have in Charles and the Royal Family never worked on me but Camilla did.
 
I think that Charles and Camilla function as a team, whereas Charles and Diana did not. If you can work as a team, it makes for a better marriage -- just look at the difference between Charles first and second.

Diana always said that she thought in their public life they functioned best as a team. But obviously Charles seems happier working with Camilla in that capacity because she is not stealing his spotlight in any way.
 
Charles is a royal that never really interested me; I never really got all the interest in Diana either TBH, but I found myself getting curious about him shortly after they announced that he and Camilla were to marry. I, perhaps because of the way she was portrayed in the media, always (unfairly) thought very little of Camilla but when she and Charles came out of the church and walked around greeting the people I found myself very drawn to her. There was something so charismatic and natural about her and because of the impression that this simple walk-about left on me, I have found myself quite interested in both her and Charles. I won’t be as active in researching their current events as some of you but if I do see something written about them I will take the time to read it, which I never did before. I never had any real problem with Charles because he cheated on Diana, I just never warmed to him but marring Camilla has changed that. I guess you could say that the interest that Diana caused many people to have in Charles and the Royal Family never worked on me but Camilla did.

I had a similar experience. I never understood all the fuss about Diana. I got interested in Prince Charles about the same time you did, when I heard he was going to marry Camilla. She had been so villified in the press, but when I saw her with him and how she handled herself, I like her. I think she has her own charm and is mature.
Lexi
 
I've just deleted a bunch of posts that were more about Diana than Charles or Camilla.

If you want to discuss how your opinion changed about Camilla because she doesnt' take the spotlight that is fine; but then to get in an argument about whether Diana really hogged the press and spotlight is not really appropriate to this thread.

If you want to discuss whether Diana hogged the spotlight, then by all means, go ahead and do so but don't discuss it in this thread: start a thread in the Diana forum to continue the discussion.

ysbel
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