How Queen Camilla Responded When Asked About Her Chain-Smoking Habit
Over the years many royal fans have heard about Queen Camilla’s (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles) smoking habit. There have been reports that King Charles’s wife has long enjoyed drinking and chain smoking. She started to get a reputation as a heavy drinker, specifically of gin, and a chain smoker due to how she’s been portrayed in shows like The Crown and The Windsors.
The queen’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, disputed those claims in an interview with The Times saying that his mother doesn’t drink or smoke. But after Camilla had to cancel a number of royal engagements due to a chest infection, the rumor mill started spinning again.
During a recent event at the Palace, Queen Camilla’s smoking habits were brought up in conversation and this is what she had to say about that.
Camilla’s answer when asked about smoking cigarettes
Queen Camilla returned to her royal duties on Nov. 13, when she and her husband welcomed several TV stars and others in the film industry to Buckingham Palace for a reception.
At the gala, Camilla spoke to director Sir Ridley Scott about his new blockbuster film Gladiator II and apologized for not attending the premiere a day earlier as she was still recovering from the chest infection. The queen explained that she felt awful over the last week but was on the mend.
Camilla was also seen talking to Paddington star Emily Mortimer who she has known for years.
According to the Mirror, the two women got to chatting about Mortimer’s mother, Penelope.
Emily told the queen: “Penny sends her love.”
When Camilla asked how she was doing, Mortimer said: “Oh, she’s still smoking as much as ever.”
The queen then asked, “Oh she’s still on the fags?” to which Emily inquired, “Oh have you quit the fags?”
“Oh yes,” Camilla replied. “I quit 20 years ago.”
The royal is believed to have stopped smoking because Charles hated the habit.
Other royal family members who smoked
Of course, Camilla isn’t the only royal known to have smoked cigarettes. In fact, the late Queen Elizabeth‘s father, King George VI, and her sister, Princess Margaret, both smoked throughout their lives as did many of her other relatives who later died from smoking-related illnesses.
Prince Harry also used to smoke. He started doing so when he was a teenager and reportedly became a pack-a-day smoker of Marlboros. But he kicked the habit when he met his future wife, Meghan Markle.
Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, is also a former smoker. The royal was first snapped with a cigarette in her hand while she was hanging out in Sydney with friends when she was 19. It’s been reported that Eugenie did enjoy a smoke from time to time when she was a teen but hasn’t touched a cigarette in years.
