The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affiar that Rocked the Crown

Summary (from the publisher): In the first in-depth biography of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall - the infamous other woman who made the marriage of Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana "a bit crowded"- esteemed royal biographer Penny Junor tells the unlikely and extraordinary story of the woman reviled as a pariah who, thanks to numerous twists of fate, became the popular princess consort. Few know the Windsor family as well as veteran royal biographer and journalist Penny Junor. In The Duchess, she casts her insightful, sensitive eye on the intriguing, once widely despised, and little-known Camilla Parker Bowles, revealing in full, for the first time, the remarkable rise of a woman who was the most notorious mistress in the world.

 

As Camilla's marriage to Charles approached in 2005, the British public were upset at the prospect that this woman, universally reviled for wrecking the royal marriage, would one day become queen. Sensitive to public opinion, the palace announced that this would never happen; when Charles eventually acceded to the throne, Camilla would be known as the princess consort. Yet a decade later British public sentiment had changed, with a majority believing that Camilla should become queen.

 

Junor argues that although Camilla played a central role in the darkest days of the modern monarchy-Charles and Diana's acrimonious and scandalous split-she also played a central role in restoring the royal family's reputation, especially that of Prince Charles. A woman with no ambition to be a princess, a duchess, or a queen, Camilla simply wanted to be with, and support, the man who has always been the love of her life. Junor contends that their marriage has reinvigorated Charles, allowing him to finally become comfortable as the heir to the British throne.

 

Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins.

 

This is a biography of the Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who rose to notorious fame as the 'other woman' in the marriage of Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In this book, Junor paints a fuller picture of the woman behind the despised name. Although they have a rocky history and have faced international criticism, Junor argues that the couple is well matched and have a happy partnership that serves the royal family well.

 

Camilla had a happy childhood and seems to have always been popular, especially with boys. Ironically enough, "Alice Keppel, Camilla's great-grandmother [...] had famously been a long-term mistress of King Edward VII, Charles's great-great-grandfather" (9). Prince Charles first met her and fell in love with her in 1971, but Camilla was already dating Andrew Parker Bowles. Despite Andrew's constant infidelity, she was set upon marrying him and finally did so. It seems that both Charles and Camilla's great downfall is that they married the wrong people and failed to exit their marriages before reconnecting. Camilla had two children with her husband and Charles, famously, went on to marry the beautiful and greatly beloved Diana.

 

Junor argues that Charles remained faithful to Diana until her mental illness eventually led to the deterioration of their marriage, at which point he turned to Camilla. Although Junor does fully acknowledge the mistakes Charles made in his first marriage, she comes across as far too lenient in the portrayal of how their relationship progressed. She presents them as comforting each other in their time of need and being cruelly misrepresented in the press. Of course, it does in hindsight appear that Diana twisted the truth and manipulated the press to her advantage, but I don't think that Charles and Camilla were as innocent as portrayed in this book. Yet Camilla is far more than just a mistress and Junor works hard to shed light on her.

 

As the royal family does not engage in interviews, this biography is still written at a remove, without quotes or true insight into Camilla or those closest to her. However, this book does more fully bring to light the close and loving marriage that she shares with Charles. Camilla seems to have truly wanted a simple life; "She wanted no more from life than to be happily married to an upper-class man and live a sociable life in the country with horses, dogs, children and someone to look after them all" (42). Yet in marrying Charles, Camilla has taken on a very different role, one she does well. In marrying Charles and becoming the Duchess of Cornwall, she has certainly proven herself worthy of the role and accepted by the royal family. In particular, the description of all her charity work was inspiring. Seen as a villain by the world for much of her life, it was interesting to learn more about the seemingly kind and thoughtful woman behind the tabloids.

 

Stars: 4