Often seen joking together or exchanging an affectionate glance, King Charles III and the Queen Consort's loving companionship has only grown stronger over the years.
Right from the start, they had much in common – including a passion for riding, horses and polo, and country pursuits like hunting, fishing and shooting. “They both love being outdoors, and always have,” royal expert Angela Levin said. “It was one of the first things that drew them together.”
Confident and fun from the outset, Camilla was the perfect foil to the once anxiety-prone Prince, who gradually became more relaxed in her presence. Today, they are more than happy to be quietly in each other’s company, comparing notes on their many mutual interests.
Gardening is perhaps the hobby that brings them most joy, and Camilla once said: “I’d be out in my garden all day, every day, if I were allowed. I love to get my hands dirty.”
She even made a guest appearance on BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World in August 2021, when she told presenter Monty Don how mice and voles had been feasting on her asparagus and strawberries at Highgrove.
She also spoke of the benefits of getting outside, adding: “I think gardens got people through Covid. You can go into a garden and you can completely lose yourself, you don’t have to think about anything else, you’re surrounded by nature, you’ve got birds singing, you’ve got bees buzzing about – there is something very healing about gardens.”
Charles agrees, and he has said: “The garden at Highgrove really does spring from my heart and, strange as it may seem to some, creating it has been rather like a form of worship.”
With Highgrove renowned for its colourful array of flowers, Charles’s favourites are delphiniums, while Camilla is especially fond of lady’s mantle, lily of the valley, English lavender and primroses. Meanwhile, to mark Organic September in 2020, they shared images of their prized fruit and veg.
“I love the vegetable garden, and summer in particular. I’m very proud of my white peaches,” Camilla said.
At her own nearby country retreat, Ray Mill, she also has a 12-acre garden with a large veggie patch. A love of fresh produce means she and Charles tend to eat healthily, although Camilla once called dieting and clean eating “the worst thing to do”.
On a 2018 episode of Australian MasterChef, she also let slip Charles’s biggest culinary weakness, saying: “He’s a huge cheese fan, anything to do with cheese he’ll love.”
Both are partial to an accompanying glass of red, and as president of the UK’s Vineyard Association, Camilla has said of her role: “First of all, I love wine; but secondly, my father was in the wine business, so I was brought up as a child drinking wine and water rather like the French.”
To work off any excesses, they regularly pull on their welly boots and explore the countryside – and seem happiest among the scenery of Birkhall on the Balmoral estate. Camilla is often left trailing in her husband’s wake though, and during an interview on The Emma Barnett Show in 2020 she said: “He’ll walk and walk and walk. He’s like a mountain goat, he leaves everybody miles behind.”
Keen to keep physically active, Camilla wears a Fitbit tracker to monitor her daily movement, and enjoys energetic strolls with her Jack Russell Terriers, Beth and Bluebell, both rescue dogs.
When the notorious British weather makes getting outdoors less appealing, the couple enjoy theatre, opera and classical concerts, as well as reading.
“There’s nothing more enjoyable for them than to sit by a blazing fire at Birkhall in Balmoral, each with a good book in hand,” author Angela tells us.
Last year, Camilla told Vogue: “When we go away, the nicest thing is that we actually sit and read our books in different corners of the same room. It’s very relaxing because you know you don’t have to make conversation. You just sit and be together.”
While Charles mostly opts for non-fiction, Camilla likes to lose herself in a novel, and during lockdown in January 2021, launched her online book club, The Reading Room. In particular, she enjoys a good detective story, and is a big fan of the Grace series of novels by Peter James.
OK! Royal Collector's Edition
King Charles III: Our New MonarchAvailable in shops and online here for £5.99
- In this commemorative issue to mark King Charles' accession to the throne, we take an in-depth look at his life, from a lonely childhood to his happy marriage to Camilla, Queen Consort.
- Royal experts reveal how he has adjusted to the loss of his beloved "Mama", Queen Elizabeth II, and his vision for the future of the royal family.
- We also explore his private passions and examine his ever-changing relationship with sons, Princes William and Harry.
When it comes to other sources of entertainment, both adore The Goon Show, a 50s comedy audio series, while Camilla is also a devout fan of radio 4 drama The Archers. “For as long as i can remember, I have loved this programme,” she said last year. “It has been my faithful companion for a large part of my life.”
On tv, they are said to share the nation’s obsession for The Great British Bake Off, as well as Strictly Come Dancing. Camilla is also said to like nordic box sets such as The Killing, while Charles loves Poldark.
The king is also a talented painter, but while he and Camilla once took lessons together, she confessed her artistic attempts weren’t too successful. during a visit to London’s royal trinity hospice in 2016, she said: “He’s so good i get frustrated and give up.”
Inevitably, the royal couple do have minor arguments, but as Angela, author of Camilla: From Outcast To Queen Consort, tells us: “They have been known to shout at one another, but it disappears very quickly, when one of them will make the other laugh. Disagreements are normal, and because both have very similar values, I’m sure the things they squabble about are tiny.”
Although their schedules are busier than ever now Charles is king, the pair will no doubt keep making precious time for each other.
“It’s not easy sometimes, but we do always try to have a point in the day when we meet,” Camilla has said. “Sometimes it’s like ships passing in the night, but we always sit down together and have a cup of tea and discuss the day. We have a moment.”
Read more in OK! Special Collector's Edition Charles and Camilla: A royal love story, available now.
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