Camilla, the queen consort who pleases her subjects

Since the death of Elizabeth II,

, wife of the new British King Charles III since 2005, has become

.

The "new" title appeared on the official Buckingham Palace website shortly after the announcement of mourning and was repeatedly uttered by the King.

“I count on the love of Camilla, who became my Queen consort 17 years ago.

I know he will live up to her role, ”Charles III said in his first address to the nation, praising his wife's" devotion to duty ".

And again: "I am deeply encouraged by the constant support of my beloved wife", he reiterated speaking at St James Palace, immediately after being formally proclaimed King.

A loving thought that, however, made those who expected even a small hint, even in passing, of the mother of his children, the late Princess Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris in August 1997, turn up their noses.

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Prince Charles with Diana and children William and Harry

It was Elizabeth II herself, on the other hand, who wanted things to go like this.

Last February, surprising her subjects and clogging up the tabloids, she had expressed the wish that Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall,

once Prince Charles had ascended the British throne. 

Previously, the title of "princess consort" was assumed for the second wife of the monarch's eldest son. 

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Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla

In the near future, Camilla could take the nickname of "queen" instead of "queen consort".

An indiscretion reported by the Guardian quoting the King's spokesman. Answering a reporter's question, he did not rule out a change in this sense in the future. 

In the meantime, however, the website of the British royal house has updated the title of the Duchess of Cornwall, confirming that as Queen consort she will be entitled to the treatment of Her Majesty.

Camilla "will assist her husband in her duties and duties. And she will participate in public events on behalf of the charities she supports", it reads.

EPA / MARK MARLOW via Ansa

Charles III and Camilla upon arrival at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast

For years Camilla has paid the price for the popularity of Lady Diana, the princess loved by the people.

Since the day of her wedding with Prince Charles, she has been followed by over 750 million people around the world, and perhaps even before her.

When Diana was introduced to the public as she shyly blushed, the Brits ran to the hairdresser to mimic her haircut.

Her separation from the heir to the throne in 1992 and then the formal divorce in 1996 strengthened her image.

Diana, even before her tragic death, was a glamor icon and an emblem of social commitment and dedication to others.

In order to rehabilitate Camilla, the "rottweiler" - as Lady D called her - the "family waste" for the subjects, it was necessary to set up operation PB ("Parker-Bowles"), led by Carlo's secretary, Mark Bolland, expert communication, and the results have been there. 

According to one of the latest YouGov surveys, its popularity is steadily increasing.

Less than half of Brits last year wanted Camilla to become queen.

In a YouGov poll released on Tuesday, 53% of them now believe she will do a good job, while only 18% think otherwise.

For her, the "strategy of silence" was adopted: a few sentences, a few releases, a sober, almost modest look.

Everything to make the subjects forget the tenor of the wiretaps in which Carlo chirped certain love phrases.

An example?

Despite the tabloid's great attention to the royal family, one hardly remembers the wedding of Carlo and Camilla, if not for that white overcoat (over a lemon-colored dress).

Worn by Elizabeth II and not by the bride, in gray.

It was 2005.

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The wedding of Carlo and Camilla, 2005

Certainly the "relaunch" of Camilla's image also contributed to that of Carlo.

Many agree that the moment in which their official "consecration" as future royal couple took place was the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, a "spot" that lasted four days in which they appeared to the world at 360 degrees, also showing their most personal aspects: like when they cuddled their grandson Louis in front of the photographers' flashes, irrepressible during the final concert.

The family, the first wedding, the meeting with Carlo

Born on July 17, 1947 at King's College Hospital in London, Camilla Rosemary Shand grew up in the countryside of East Sussex and the lights of central London, in South Kensington.

One of her maternal great-grandmothers, Alice Keppel, was the mistress of King Edward VII from 1898 to 1910, a detail that Camilla herself did not fail to remind Carlo in one of their first youth meetings.

Growing up in the English countryside, she soon learned to ride.

A passion in common with the new King and Queen Elizabeth.

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Camilla Parker Bowles on horseback

After school in London, she studied in Switzerland and France, deciding, upon returning from abroad, to share an apartment with her friends.

Until the meeting with Andrew Parker Bowles.

The two got married on July 4, 1973: Camilla was 25 and Parker Bowles 33. After 21 years of marriage and two children - Tom and Laura - in 1994 they started the divorce proceedings.

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Camilla Shand's first marriage to Major Andrew Parker-Bowles, 1973

At the time of the wedding, Camilla and Carlo had already met, not at a polo match, as was said, but at a friend's house.

According to biographer Robert Lacey, they immediately began a relationship opposed mainly by the Queen Mother who wanted the heir to the throne to marry one of the granddaughters of the Spencer family.

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Prince Charles and Camilla Parker in 1979

The choice fell on Diana who would later tell in a famous interview on TV how much pain it had caused her to discover that hers was a "threesome", calling it "crowded".

Carlo described Camilla as a "dear friend" before saying that he had remained faithful to his wife during their marriage only until he was "irremediably broken".

Camilla has never talked about Diana in the decades following the princess's divorce and untimely death at the age of 36 in a car accident in Paris.

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Lady Diana and Camilla Parker Bowles

Camilla, wife of Carlo

Only after their respective divorces and the death of Lady D, Carlo and Camilla return to be seen together in public until the wedding in 2005. Out of respect for William and Harry's mother and to reassure the public, she is not awarded the title of Princess of Wales - now passed to Kate Middleton - but the secondary one of Duchess of Cornwall.

However, she is the second highest-ranking woman in the British Royal Order of Precedence (after Queen Elizabeth II) and participates in public engagements, often with her husband.

She is also a patron, president or member of numerous charities and organizations.

Since 1994 Camilla has conducted an awareness campaign on osteoporosis, which has earned her numerous awards and prizes. 

Wikipedia

Camilla Shand during the opening of the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff in 2011

Camilla's crown

Now, Camilla Rosemary Shand, wife of the new British King Charles III since 2005, is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and fourteen other Commonwealth countries.

Before her were Queen Mary (wife of King George V) and Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III). 

In short, with the death of Elizabeth II, she entered fully into the royal 'gotha' and on the same day as her husband Carlo she too will have a crown on her head. 

Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother) each had new crowns made for their coronations.

This time Camilla is more likely to wear that of the Queen Mother.

Made in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI, it is in platinum, therefore lighter, and consists of four arches, unlike the traditional eight, which can be detached to wear only the rim.

Not a small detail: it is decorated with precious stones, in particular the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond, which has long been the focus of a dispute between India and the United Kingdom.

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The Crown of the Queen Mother

Camilla's first message

After years of silence, the day before the Queen's funeral, Camilla spoke.

With a message broadcast on TV, she paid homage to Elizabeth II by calling her a "lonely woman" who had to "carve out her own role" in a world dominated by men.

And she remembered her blue eyes, "wonderful", "that when she smiled at her, her eyes lit up her whole face".

“I will always remember her smile,” she said.

"That smile is unforgettable".

From now on, among her tasks there will also be this: to make the memory of Elizabeth II alive, supporting Charles in the construction of a new monarchy.