Camilla completed her first year as Queen this month marking one year since Charles was crowned as Britain’s monarch on May 6, 2023.
Following the Coronation, Camilla continued to focus on her charity work and throughout 2023 the 76-year-old Queen carried out 233 royal engagements.
But after the King’s cancer announcement in February, Camilla assumed much of the responsibility for heading the Royal Family.
In the absence of the King, the Queen led the family at a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece and then hosted a reception for hundreds of guests afterwards.
Additionally, in March the Queen acted as head of the family for a Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey.
A source close to the Queen said: “Her Majesty is robust, positive and determined to keep going while the King is off public duties. The King is proud and pleased to see the show is being kept on the road by the Queen and the wider family.”
Despite her dependable and consistent presence during her first year as Queen, a recent YouGov survey found that Camilla is the least popular senior working member of the Royal Family.
Princess Kate, Prince William, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and her husband, King Charles were all more favourable to the public than the Queen.
Although the Queen holds the lowest positive rating of the central family members her popularity has greatly increased since marrying Charles in 2005.
The passionate relationship between Charles and Camilla while he was married to Princess Diana made for a rocky start to Camilla’s public image.
After all, Diana famously called Camilla the “third person” in her marriage to the then Prince of Wales.
In 1997, the same year as Princess Diana’s death, a poll showed 57 per cent of people had an unfavourable opinion of Camilla which has reduced to 38 per cent in 2024.
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However, the Queen’s work with charitable causes such as those relating to literacy and domestic violence coupled with her down-to-earth nature has certainly earned respect lost in the early years of her relationship with the King.
The Queen will accompany the King for an overseas trip to Australia in October this year if Charles’s health will allow it.
The royal voyage has been scheduled around the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa which begins on October 21, 2024.
With that in mind, do you think Camilla has done a good job during her first year as Queen?