Australia must let go of the grudge against Camilla much the same way we forgive disgraced NRL and AFL stars
Surely that’s the reason why – more than 25 years since the death of Princess Diana and the drying of the ink on her divorce from the then Prince Charles – we cannot find it in ourselves to warm to Camilla.
Australia is the Prince Harry of the Commonwealth. Much like the Duke of Sussex, we’re not fans of Queen Consort Camilla.
That’s according to new polling conducted by YouGov, obtained by The Australian, which shows we prefer the turncoat to his stepmother.
Ahead of this weekend’s coronation, where Camilla will be crowned with her husband, the public perception of the royal family in Australia is firmly in focus.
The recent survey of more than 1500 Australians shows King Charles and Camilla are – at best – liked. At worst, tolerated.
We want King William and Queen Catherine, please. The pair are leading the latest polls with approval ratings of 73 and 74 per cent, respectively.
Despite gaining ground in popularity here in the past two years, the King sits on 52 per cent. But his wife came in below Princess Anne and Prince Edward, and is wedged on the bottom of the ladder between Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew, with just 35 per cent.
The ratings for Charles and Camilla, according to pollsters, are the type of positive endorsements politicians would dream of, but for an institution that is shedding support around its territories, especially among younger demographics, it’s the type of data that would blow the foam of a monarchist’s Horlicks.
Camilla, 75, has stood by her husband, who thanked his “darling wife” for her years of support during his first speech to the nation last year.
“I know she (Camilla) will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much,“ he said the day after his mother‘s death.
Camilla Rosemary Shand was born on 17 July 1947 to parents Major Bruce and Rosalind Shand at King’s College Hospital in London.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 2, 2023
Since Their Majesties' marriage in 2005, The Queen Consort has become Patron or President of over 100 charities and initiatives in total. pic.twitter.com/0YGc5j7S1Z
When the King was having issues with a leaking pen during the official mourning period and got the strops, Camilla was the one to quietly placate him.
Diana may have been the People’s Princess, but Camilla has the patience of a saint.
India Knight wrote in The Times of London after the Queen’s death last year: “People want fairytales, happy endings, goodies and baddies. As soon as news of Charles’s infidelity was made public Diana was cast, in part by herself, as a monstrously wronged saint-martyr, and Camilla as a witch without morals, a wicked enchantress with no care for anything other than her own base lust.”
Camilla is the bad girl come good.
It just took more than 50-odd years of slander, ridicule and character assassination to get here. But she stuck around despite it all.
Love, eh?
“Camilla has gone from wicked witch to happy ever after,” Knight wrote.
They married, 10 years after their respective divorces, and 34 years after first meeting at a party and hitting it off.
There was no pomp, no pageantry, just a small civil service followed by a reception where the Queen, finally, toasted the couple who were destined to be together all along.
“They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair (fences at Aintree) and all kinds of other terrible obstacles. They have come through and I’m very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves,” the Queen said.
When Charles was entering his 30s he was advised against pursuing a relationship with her and instead married the beautiful, naive, 19-year-old Diana due to (an unspoken) royal decree the heir to the throne needs a hot, “pure” wife.
Diana was visible and shone like a sequin everywhere she went, much to Charles’ chagrin.
Camilla is like shape wear. You know she’s there, but rarely seen.
Camilla – like Charles – loves dogs, horses and being in the country.
She makes her own honey, started her own virtual book club during lockdown and practises ballet to keep fit.
How do we know this sitting in the antipodes?
Scrolling social media of course. The official social media channels of the royal family have been flooded with coverage and information about Camilla in the past week to educate the masses about the most famous mistress in the world.
Camilla has been able to successfully scrub the scarlet letter from her romantic resume in Britain with the help of carefully staged public appearances and a staff of Clarence House advisers over the years, but all Australians really have to go off are the rare official tours, some photos on Instagram and The Crown.
Ms Markle thought she copped a bad review by Fleet Street? Camilla in The Crown could have inspired a villain spin off.
“Whoever wrote her narrative arc, really didn’t like her,” another pollster said, confirming the impact of the TV show would have translated into her poor showing here.
The silent generation will remember “tampon gate” but the Millennials and Gen Z now also have TikTok.
Which could also be the inspiration for our stubborn nonchalance toward our new queen.
The top content regarding the Queen Consort on the short-video platform focuses on how she “tore Diana and Charles’ marriage apart” and one video even outlines how many other boyfriends and husbands she’s “stolen”.
It’s rather odd that we live in a country that is willing to grant high-profile athletes, including disgraced NRL and AFL stars, multiple opportunities for redemption but we can’t do the same for someone like Camilla.
Someone, says Knight, who “gritted her teeth, kept her head down, never publicly made even a squeak of complaint at the crude and brutal treatment doled out by both media and public, and quietly stood by her man”.
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Australians are good at many things. Holding grudges is one of them. Especially against the soon-to-be Queen.