bitchy | Duchess Camilla: Prince Philip ‘was always a very good ear, he was a role model to me’

The Duchess of Cornwall covers Australian Women’s Weekly, only this cover shot is just the same photo taken by the Duchess of Cambridge for Country Life magazine (which Camilla guest-edited). It seems Country Life made some kind of arrangement with AWW, where AWW got to use the same photos of Camilla, and then AWW got an exclusive interview with Camilla. From my limited knowledge of Australian publications, I always thought AWW was kind of a tabloid? Maybe I’m thinking of another magazine. Anyway, Camilla’s 75th birthday/image-rehabilitation continues unabated. She even name-drops Prince Philip in this interview:

Prince Charles’ wife, who turns 75 this month, sat down with Juliet Rieden of The Australian Women’s Weekly last month (on the busy day of Trooping the Colour!) to chat about everything from her childhood in the country to her future as Queen Consort. During the interview, Camilla also reflected on her relationship with Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 at the age of 99.

“The Duke of Edinburgh was always a very good ear,” Camilla said. “He was a role model to me and a very good person to take advice from because he always told me what he thought.”

As a consort to his wife Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip no doubt provided Camilla with an idea of her role when Prince Charles becomes monarch one day.

Camilla also revealed that there’s a part of royal life that still makes her nervous.

“I get petrified making speeches,” she shared.

In a joint arrangement with Country Life magazine, the image of Camilla that appears on the cover of The Australian Women’s Weekly was taken by Kate Middleton. They also shared an exclusive photo of Camilla, also shot by Kate, where the Duchess of Cornwall smiles as she leans against a fence in the garden of her home Raymill in Wiltshire. (Camilla sported her go-to accessory — her FitBit! — for the occasion.)

[From People]

I didn’t even pick up on the fact that Camilla is wearing her FitBit in the photo. That’s interesting, I guess. As for Camilla being petrified of making speeches… I’ve watched her speeches over the years, and while she’s not the second coming of Winston Churchill, she’s totally fine. She seems more comfortable talking to smaller groups, but who knows. I think it’s really funny and obvious that Camilla is using Prince Philip’s memory to embiggen herself. I mean, she will be the consort, just like Philip. They would have stuff to talk about, and it’s not like Philip hated Camilla or anything, he just never could understand why Charles was so enamored with Camilla and not Diana. I seriously doubt Philip and Camilla had some kind of secret friendship though.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of the Duchess of Cambridge/AWW.