Camilla as Consort Discussion

TLLK · January 30, 2019, 12:56:05 AM

Quote from: royalanthropologist on January 29, 2019, 04:00:54 PM
I very much doubt Camilla is the kind to be lonely, bored or particularly depressed. She strikes me as someone with plenty of interests and a rather contented lifestyle.

I agree. Camilla strikes me as someone who is happy whether she is alone with a book, with friends or even joining in with the activities while performing her royal duties.

sandy · January 30, 2019, 02:14:42 AM

I think she has some issues since she continues to cooperate with Diana basher, Junor.

TLLK · January 30, 2019, 02:27:03 AM

QuoteIt is not that glamourous or high profile... So Im thinking she does like reading and is willing oto encourage people

@amabel-No literacy is not a glamorous or high profile cause, but it is a truly necessary one that covers all ages, stages, socio-economic levels across a society. From the children learning their letters/sounds/sight words to the new immigrants learning English to the adults who have tried to mask their illiteracy, it is one that needs a high profile patron IMHO.

sandy · January 30, 2019, 02:45:24 AM

I don't see her as an expert on literacy. She had the minimum education herself but she can read speeches written for her.

TLLK · January 30, 2019, 03:27:21 AM

Like most royals and public figures who serve as patronages, Camilla is not an "expert" but she is a high profile public figure who can bring awareness to a cause. :)
For example Queen Letizia of Spain is not a research scientist, but she is the patron of Spanish Rare Diseases. CP Mary of Denmark is not trained as a social worker, but she does champion anti-bullying organizations. The late Princess of Wales was not a pediatrician, but she was an effective President for Barnardos.

Double post auto-merged: January 30, 2019, 04:28:08 AM

In this message about encouraging parents to read to children, Camilla shares how her father's simple act of reading aloud created a very real and visual experience for their family. TBH any literacy expert would also encourage parents, guardians, and other adults to read to children from a very early age.

Quotehttps://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speech/message-hrh-duchess-cornwall-national-literacy-trusts-literacy-heroes-campaign

Double post auto-merged: January 30, 2019, 04:29:08 AM

Quote from: TLLK on January 30, 2019, 03:27:21 AM
Like most royals and public figures who serve as patronages, Camilla is not an "expert" but she is a high profile public figure who can bring awareness to a cause. :)
For example Queen Letizia of Spain is not a research scientist, but she is the patron of Spanish Rare Diseases. CP Mary of Denmark is not trained as a social worker, but she does champion anti-bullying organizations. The late Princess of Wales was not a pediatrician, but she was an effective President for Barnardos.
Double post auto-merged: January 30, 2019, 04:28:08 AM

In this message about encouraging parents to read to children, Camilla shares how her father's simple act of reading aloud created a very real and visual experience for their family. TBH any literacy expert would also encourage parents, guardians, and other adults to read to children from a very early age.

firmly believe in the importance of igniting a passion for reading in the next generation. I was lucky enough to have a father who was a fervent bibliophile and a brilliant storyteller too. He read to us each night and transported us into different worlds from the irresistible lure of Mr McGregor's garden to battles for Toad Hall or close encounters with the dreaded Captain Hook. Every book was a promise of something new and exciting.

In a world where the written word competes with so many other calls on our attention, we need more Literacy Heroes to keep inspiring young people to find the pleasure and power of reading for themselves. I look forward to hearing about your heroes who, like my father, have had such an impact on the opportunities, aspirations and happiness of others through the vital skill of literacy.
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royalanthropologist · January 30, 2019, 07:13:14 AM

It has never been a requirement to be an expert on all the patronages that royals take on. Otherwise, they would have no patronages at all!!! You do not have to be a linguistics professor to champion reading or to be a battered woman in order to champion a women's shelter. Of course you can have that as an added experience, but it is not essential when you are a royal patron.

Trudie · January 30, 2019, 12:42:03 PM

I don't see Camilla as the peoples Duchess I see this basically as more attempts to promote her by the palace PR as The Queens reign will be over in a few years and Camilla becomes Queen Consort. While her patronages are great and worthy causes she is no work horse and never was.

royalanthropologist · January 30, 2019, 01:12:42 PM

The term "people's Duchess" is ridiculous, almost bordering on an insult. I very much doubt Camilla would like to be a "People's Duchess" or anything of the sort. That sort of thing reminds me of Communist China.

Camilla is the wife of POW and I think she is happy with that. Her job is to support Charles and the monarchy, not court media attention or garner public adulation or become a star.

In any case I rather suspect that Christopher Wilson is being his useful spiteful self with the snide remarks...he wants to say something nasty about Camilla but must pretend to be respectful in the process. Damning with faint praise comes to mind.

TLLK · February 03, 2019, 01:56:24 PM

^^Very likely this number includes others who have actually met and worked with her through her various charities and patronages. :)

@sandy-If you click on the YouGov link that I provided and go to the about YouGov section, it will explain how they collect their data from respondents in the UK. As with any opinion poll, none of them ever ask "everyone." :)

wannable · February 03, 2019, 02:01:29 PM

All the royal press pack have expressed through their twitter accounts that the Duchess of Cornwall is 'always' a delight, they have a lot of fun when requested to follow her on duty.

amabel · February 03, 2019, 02:11:37 PM

Quote from: TLLK on February 03, 2019, 01:56:24 PM
^^Very likely this number includes others who have actually met and worked with her through her various charities and patronages. :)

@sandy-If you click on the YouGov link that I provided and go to the about YouGov section, it will explain how they collect their data from respondents in the UK. As with any opinion poll, none of them ever ask "everyone." :)

How many times has this been said?

TLLK · February 04, 2019, 12:19:33 AM

@sandy -Scince you are reluctant to accept t the methodology behind opinion polls, I would suggest that you avoid any stories or posts that cite information from them. No opinion polls ever asks everyone. YouGov and IPSO-Mori are two well known and trusted companies.

sandy · February 04, 2019, 01:03:01 AM

I'm not avoiding anything I want to comment on. It is a sample and the comments about Camilla sound suspiciously like the fawning comments she gets in DM comments section. Very cliche. She has to do this work as befits her position and its nothing "extraordinary" that she does royal duties, she has to. Sorry I don't think everybody finds this woman "delightful." I think the poll sounds biased to me. Other polls show negatives for her and she's way down on the list. These sort of polls has Charles' PR fingerprints on them. I am skeptical of this. ANd I certainly can express my opinion here.

Polls are not always reliable. HIllary Clinton was said to be a sure thing to win the election and look how that turned out! I also found that commentators were going on about how "reliable" the polls were for the election.

TLLK · February 04, 2019, 01:32:58 AM

@sandy-Of course other polls over the years have Camilla's popularity rising and falling from the time that she married into the BRF. The YouGov poll that I shared is from May 2018-January 2019. (And BTW does not include the adjective "delightful" in the description. I believe that you're referring to how members of the press pack feel about the Duchess of Cornwall.)

Again this is what the YouGov poll indicated that the fans of the Duchess had to say about her.

QuoteCamilla, Duchess of Cornwall is the 10th most popular royalty and the 8th most famous. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is described by fans as: Genuine, Loyal, Good-humoured, Supportive and Down to earth.

In 2007 The You Gov poll had her popularity at a much lower level when asked if she should be Queen Camilla one day. (Queen Consort of course.)

Public support falls for Queen Camilla - Telegraph

Seven years later, more than half who participated believed that she should be titled Queen Camilla.

Camilla can become 'Queen', say public | YouGov

However, three years later that popularity had fallen again after the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Five charts on Brits' reaction to the Royal engagement | YouGov

It's something that will likely continue to go up and down but as I said earlier she's not likely to ever be as popular as her predecessor and successor, but who knows where it will be next year? :shrug:

Trudie · February 04, 2019, 02:11:43 AM

TLLK of course the press pack are going to say she is delightful their careers depend on it and knowing that within a decade she most likely will be Queen they do not want to antagonize the palace press office.

TLLK · February 04, 2019, 03:13:08 AM

@Trudie-I disagree. If the press pack didn't care for someone, I believe that they'd do the following: 1. They not acknowledge it publicly or 2. Would quietly "get the word out."

I believe that there would little hints that someone was "aloof," "distant," "difficult" or "challenging."

TLLK · February 05, 2019, 01:39:43 AM

QuoteI don't think she is popular

@sandy-You are certainly welcome to your opinion on the Duchess of Cornwall, just like the YouGov pollsters. :happy:

sandy · February 05, 2019, 06:53:39 AM

So are all the other many people welcome to their negative opinions about the woman?

wannable · February 05, 2019, 01:10:54 PM

I hardly doubt grandpa/grandma Charles and Camilla will start doxing negative (and there are plenty Camilla none likers) opinionnaires/opinionated/opinion makers at their grand old' age.

TLLK · February 05, 2019, 02:08:51 PM

Quote from: sandy on February 05, 2019, 06:53:39 AM
So are all the other many people welcome to their negative opinions about the woman?

Absolutely they're welcome to their opinions as I never specified which type of opinions were acceptable. :wink: YouGov tracked positive, neutral and negative opinions on 15 members of the BRF.

Here is my post:

Quote@sandy-You are certainly welcome to your opinion on the Duchess of Cornwall, just like the YouGov pollsters.

Princess Cassandra · February 12, 2019, 02:56:14 AM

Quote from: royalanthropologist on January 29, 2019, 07:46:16 PM
I always believe that the best way to live is to be happy and contended. If you spend your life worrying about what you don't have, it can become a very miserable experience. You start catching on and the people around you slowly but slowly detach from you. Nobody likes to be near misery. The fact that Camilla has an easy disposition and is apparently very happy with her lot has to be one of the reasons that her relationship with Charles works.

As for the "people's Duchess" nonsense, I do wish the likes of Christopher Wilson did some real reporting instead of presenting these passive aggressive snide articles that have nothing new to say. Camilla danced with some pensioners at an event, everybody that really mattered to that event was there and they seemed happy. It does not mean that Camilla is putting out an application to be a "people's Duchess".

:goodpost: So well put, and I think you are spot on. I've never met her but I have the distinct impression that she would also think the "people's princess" is nonsense.

royalanthropologist · February 12, 2019, 04:27:14 PM

The two events do not really have a direct correlation. The old people at the Jewish center have no beef with Camilla, they are certainly not her love rivals. There is no reason she would revile or dislike them for that matter. They are people she has met in her line of work as wife to POW and the indications are that she enjoyed that engagement very much. They too did.

sandy · February 12, 2019, 05:18:01 PM

Why would they care? She was not there long and is not going to ever be close friends with any of them.

TLLK · February 17, 2019, 05:58:01 PM

Quote from: royalanthropologist on February 12, 2019, 04:27:14 PM
The two events do not really have a direct correlation. The old people at the Jewish center have no beef with Camilla, they are certainly not her love rivals. There is no reason she would revile or dislike them for that matter. They are people she has met in her line of work as wife to POW and the indications are that she enjoyed that engagement very much. They too did.

Thank you @royalanthropologist -Why would the War of the Wales have anything to do with this engagement at the Jewish Center?

TLLK · March 19, 2019, 01:05:41 AM

Is it time to call Camilla, Princess of Wales? ? Royal Central

Quote
Picture by i-Images / Pool

As she prepares to head off on another packed tour, representing her country, you can only doff your hat to the Duchess of Cornwall. Camilla has created a royal agenda and role of her own, against the odds, let?s not forget, and is now widely accepted as one of the bedrocks of the 21st century House of Windsor. So given all she?s achieved and all she is still clearly planning to do, is it time to call her by her most senior title and acknowledge Camilla publicly as Princess of Wales?

We all know why she?s currently called Duchess of Cornwall. From the moment it was announced ahead of their 2005 wedding that Camilla would take her title from her honour automatically bestowed on an heir to the throne, there was an acknowledgement that the title Princess of Wales belonged, in the public?s view at least, to Diana. Separating Camilla from that was one way of building support for a marriage that was still controversial. But in the past 14 years, much has changed.

Embed from Getty Images

Time, for a start, has flown on with that certainty it always has. Over two decades since her death, Diana remains an essential figure in the history of the House of Windsor, but the emotions which surrounded her passing have changed. The anger and rawness that some felt following the car crash in Paris on August 31st 1997 have subsided while the 20th anniversary of her death, with commemorations overseen by her two sons, in some ways marked a watershed. Now that William and Harry are moving on to separate households, inevitable as they formed their own families and looked to their differing futures, the pace of change in the House of Windsor is quickening and our view of Camilla is altering all the while.

Camilla, though, is the main reason for the change. Since her marriage, on April 9th 2005, she has become a pillar of the Royal Family. She carries out hundreds of engagements a year, including several overseas tours annually, and she has made no secret of her passion for causes and charities which really need support. She also clearly gets on with her in-laws and her stepsons. That family love and her own quiet determination have seen a shift in the public attitude towards her. So much has altered that the Duchess herself was recently able to joke during a speech that a taxi driver once asked her what she thought about herself at the time when the War of the Wales? dominated the media. That this anecdote got a laugh rather than outrage is an indication of all that has altered.

We all know, too, that when Prince Charles does become king, there will be a debate about the title Camilla takes. The original statement from the royals that she would be known as Princess Consort has been slowly forgotten and now doesn?t feature on official websites. The presumption is that when the reign of her husband begins, she will be known as his queen consort and despite changing attitudes, it will still cause discussion. It can be argued that it is perhaps better to have the debate about changing the original intentions now, in the security of The Queen?s long reign and at a time dominated by babies and weddings, than in the early days of a new rule when feelings will be running high, and the royals will be grieving deeply.

But then we?re not the ones who will sit at the eye of the storm. It?s easy to say from a distance that the medicine might be better taken now. Camilla is clearly in a very happy time in her life. She has a loving marriage, her own children are settled, and she has the joy of her own and Prince Charles? grandchildren. She also has popular approval and support. Whatever has changed, there will be some opposition and Camilla is the one who will have to face the prospect of her past being raked over in an attempt to look to the future.

We should also remember that the brand, Duchess of Cornwall, is a powerful one. Since her marriage, Camilla has espoused many causes and enjoyed considerable success where others might well have failed. Her initiative to provide wash bags to those affected by sexual assault is a project that can?t be commended highly enough while her support for literacy across the community, even taking her campaign to bring reading to all into prisons, has given a boost to thousands of people. All that has been done under her title, the one she has made her own, that of Duchess of Cornwall. Would changing to Princess of Wales have an impact on that?

Embed from Getty Images

However, the bottom line remains that Princess of Wales is Camilla?s actual title, and there?s no better time to give her that due. In this fiftieth year since Charles? investiture as Prince of Wales, she has become one half of a power couple that is building the future of the British monarchy before our very eyes. No one will forget Diana, but her legacy is secure and calling Camilla by the title that once belonged to her now seems like a natural progression rather than an unnatural development. So as she prepares to head off on another tour, doff that hat and why not call Camilla, Princess of Wales?