King Charles' coronation part of long evolution for Queen Camilla
CTV
When Camilla, the Queen Consort, is crowned alongside her husband next week, the moment will mark the culmination of a remarkable - and painstakingly slow - transformation over five decades of a figure once reviled as the other woman and considered a huge liability to the monarchy.
When Camilla, the Queen Consort, is crowned alongside her husband next week, the moment will mark the culmination of a remarkable - and painstakingly slow - transformation over five decades of a figure once reviled as the other woman and considered a huge liability to the monarchy.
With the coronation of King Charles III days away and his first seven months on the throne under his belt, many in Britain have grown to accept Camilla, though some experts and observers say she will always walk in the shadow of her past.
"Without really trying too hard, but just by giving it time and going gently, gently, she has managed to show people the real person that she is -- that she's not this villainess, and that she's there to do the hard work," said Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. "But the most important thing about Camilla is the way she appears to support her husband and back him up."
Camilla, 75, was mercilessly torn apart by the tabloids for years. Seward said she earned respect by putting her head down and steadily getting on with her duties. She's won over much of the British public with her down-to-earth personality and her charitable work, notably against domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse -- causes she says she'll continue to support as queen.
But some say she'll never fully shake her reputation as the third person in the marriage between Charles and Princess Diana.
"I would actually argue that she still is the other woman, and probably will remain the other woman," said Arianne Chernock, a professor specializing in modern British history at Boston University. "Diana will very much be a presence in the room in Westminster Abbey in May 6 -- I think it's hard not to see her when you look at Charles and Camilla.
"And the challenge remains even going forward, even as Queen Camilla, which at one point would have been unthinkable."
