The 4 Smart Ways Camilla Parker Bowles Transformed Herself From Unpopular Mistress to Hard-Working Royal

The world first learned of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as the mistress in Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage. For many years, she was viewed negatively, and her marriage to Charles in 2005 was not well-received by the public.

These days, Camilla is still one of the most unpopular royals. However, her reputation has no doubt improved in the past couple of decades following some very smart moves she made.

Camilla Parker Bowles did not vie for the ‘Princess of Wales’ title

Prince Charles is known as the Prince of Wales, so any woman married to him should be styled as the Princess of Wales. This was Diana’s title and one that is strongly associated with her.

When Camilla married Charles, she could have chosen to be called the Princess of Wales, too. However, because many people would not have liked it, so she never publicly fought for the title. Rather, she took on another title instead, which kept her from ruffling any feathers.

“Camilla was not popular or well liked, [though] this has changed a lot since the marriage as Camilla has taken on a lot of patronages and Charles is a lot happier,” royal expert Marlene Koenig said, according to Town & Country. “Still, [there was] a lot of tension and anger among a certain element of the population—so it was decided that Camilla would be styled as the Duchess of Cornwall, even though, of course, she is the Princess of Wales.”

Camilla keeps her personal life private and does not attract scandals

Camilla’s biggest scandal has arguably been the love triangle with Charles and Diana. However, ever since she married Charles, she has remained largely private and not been involved in any other huge scandals at all.

This has done a great deal of good for her public image, and it is a technique other royals use as well. For example, Queen Elizabeth is notoriously private about her life, which has made her uncontroversial and popular with the public. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge also endured a lot of negative press when she first joined the royal family, but she has followed Camilla’s and Her Majesty’s leads to stay private and improve her reputation.

Camilla focuses her time on meaningful charity work

Whenever Camilla is seen in public, it is simply to carry out her royal duties. Oftentimes, these duties involve promoting charity organizations.

Camilla has focused a lot of her time on charity work that helps women and children. For example, she is an avid reader and is a patron of several organizations that promote literacy in kids. Additionally, she supports sexual assault and domestic violence victims in many ways, from visiting crisis centers to speaking out about these taboo topics.

Camilla gives the public a chance to see her personality

While Camilla is private about her personal life, she has taken a lot of opportunities over the years to let people see what she is really like.

As reported by the Daily Mail, royal reporters and those who have met her say that Camilla is “down-to-earth” and has a great attitude towards strangers.

Even during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, when royals have to limit in-person visits to charity organizations, Camilla uses Zoom to continue promoting her patronages. The Guardian noted that Camilla is a technophobe, but she has taken working from home in strides.

The outlet also wrote, “She has never wanted a big PR campaign to promote her, sources said. What she wanted was to meet people, let them see what she is like, and then make their own minds up.”