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There was a time when Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall was one of the most despised women in the U.K. The duchess and Prince Charles had dated in the early 1970s. However, after the British royal family decided that Camilla was an unsuitable match for the Crowned King, she married her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Andrew Parker Bowles. Prince Charles would go on to marry Princess Diana.

Though they wed other people, this did not stop the connection that the prince and the duchess shared. In 1986, the duo struck up an affair. Though Princess Diana was suspicious about what was going on between the two, they managed to keep their relationship under wraps until the 1990s.

When news of the affair hit the press following an explicit leaked phone call between Prince Charles and Camilla, she became enemy number one. Now, nearly 30 years later, the duchess has transformed herself into a future Queen Consort that the British royal family desperately needs.

Camilla Parker Bowles is beloved by the British press and royal family members

Despite her rocky start on the public stage, the Duchess of Cornwall’s quick wit and sunny disposition has helped her win over the British press and public. In fact, she is often preferred over her husband, Prince Charles.

Royal reports have often praised her for being the easiest and most jovial royal to speak with. She is enthusiastic about her royal duties and she is often the life of the party. Though the duchess still upholds the traditions of the royal family, she does not take herself too seriously. “You’ve got to laugh through most things, and sometimes I do laugh a bit too much,” she once told Daily Mail. “There are situations where it’s very difficult not to lose it completely, especially, you know, if something goes terribly wrong and everybody sits there for a split-second [not sure how to react]. You do have to swallow and pinch yourself very hard to not laugh. You have to laugh at yourself because if you can’t, you may as well give up!”

Also, the duchess immediately bonded with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry has openly praised her calling her, “a wonderful woman” in a BBC interview.

Camilla Parker Bowles paved the way for younger royals

Royal fans and experts often praise, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex as being the royal family’s first royal women. However, in many ways, the duchess paved the way for both of these women.

“In many ways, Camilla had paved the way for Meghan,” journalist Carole Malone explained in Charles & Camilla: King and Queen in Waiting. “In the sense that they were both divorcees and neither of them was royals.”

The duchess also proved to be the perfect point person for the Duchess of Sussex during her crash course into royal life in the months leading up to her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. Daily Mail reported, “The Duchess of Cornwall has reportedly bestowed humorous, down-to-earth advice upon Meghan and befriended her as a fellow outsider to the royal family.”

The British royal family needs Camilla Parker Bowles

With Prince Andrew and the Sussexes’ outside of the royal fold, Prince Charles is hoping to streamline the royal family with an emphasis on Queen Elizabeth, himself, and the Cambridges.

Though Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are well-liked, the future Crowned King desperately needs the Duchess of Cornwall. ITV Royal Editor Camilla Tominey says that the royals need to be “relatable” and “touchable” instead of “cut off and cold” moving forward. As an enthusiastic extrovert who is a patron to over 90 charities which span various topics including health, literacy, supporting victims of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence, empowering women, food, animals, and heritage and the arts, the duchess might be the one person who gets Prince Charles through his years on the throne.

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