The Duchess of Cornwall is opening up about her relationship with the Prince of Wales.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall works hard to prioritize time with her husband amid their busy schedules. In a rare interview with British Vogue, the 74-year-old royal reveals how she and Prince Charles, whom she wed back in 2005, make time for each other while working as senior members of the royal family.
"It’s not easy sometimes, but we do always try to have a point in the day when we meet. Sometimes it’s like ships passing in the night, but we always sit down together and have a cup of tea and discuss the day," she says. "We have a moment. It’s lovely to catch up when we have a bit of time."
"You know, when we go away, the nicest thing is that we actually sit and read our books in different corners of the same room," Camilla adds of herself and her husband. "It’s very relaxing because you know you don’t have to make conversation. You just sit and be together."
The pair's relationship hasn't been without controversy. Camilla and Charles dated prior to their first marriages, the duchess to Andrew Parker Bowles and the Prince of Wales to Princess Diana.
The former marriage came to an end in 1995, and the latter did so the following year. It was at that point that Camilla and Charles officially resumed their romance, under much public and media scrutiny.
"It’s not easy. I was scrutinized for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it," Camilla says. "Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticized… But I think in the end, I sort of rise above it and get on with it. You’ve got to get on with life."
And get on she has, earning the approval of Queen Elizabeth, taking on causes related to the arts and domestic abuse survivors, and being a doting grandmother to five little ones, aged 12 to 14.
"I do Wordle every day with my granddaughter," Camilla reveals of the online word game. "She’ll text me to say, 'I’ve done it in three,' and I say, 'Sorry, I’ve done it in two today.' It’s very satisfactory when it tells you how brilliant you are."
Aside from Wordle messages, Camilla says that "it's very nice getting a text" from her grandkids, three of whom come from her daughter, Laura, and two of whom come from her son, Tom.
"We learn from very young people and they learn from us, too," she says. "That’s the way it’s always been."
With her family by her side, Camilla is preparing to mark her 75th birthday on July 17, though she tells British Vogue "there won't be much celebration."
"I shall spend it with my family and a few friends," Camilla says, before reflecting on the upcoming milestone.
"Who wants to be 75, really? But there’s nothing we can do about it. That’s life," she says. "... I let [birthdays] come and go. I mean I’d be very happy to turn back the clock. When you get to any big number, whether it’s 30, 50, 70, you think: 'God, that’s so old.' You know, my mother died when she was 72, so I’ve out-lived my mother, which is quite strange."
While she has mixed feelings about aging, Camilla does feel there's one bright spot in getting older. "I think you can’t do much more about yourself. You’ve done what you can," she says. "I think you just accept that you are who you are. You get to be a 75-year-old."
In the same way that her birthday celebrations won't be extravagant, the duchess' perfect solo is absent of the glitz and glamour that some may assume.
"I would do a bit of gardening, go for a walk and then I’d sit down and read a book. It would be my idea of heaven, in the quiet of the countryside, where you can generally relax and properly think," she says. "I suppose what I’d think is, 'I’m quite lucky that I’m still around.'"
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