Princess Anne makes rare comment about Camilla’s reign as Queen

Princess Anne has made a rare comment about Camilla’s reign as queen in a new BBC documentary examining King Charles’s first year as monarch. The documentary, which will air on Boxing Day (26 December), promises to offer viewers a “behind-the-scenes” look at Charles’s first year as Britain’s new monarch after his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, died last September.

It features interviews with members of the royal family, including Princess Anne who has, for the first time, spoken about Camilla’s relationship with the throne – praising her sister-in-law’s “understanding of the role” as the nation’s queen despite not being a “natural” fit for it. The Princess Royal, 73, said: “I’ve known [Camilla] a long time off and on. Her understanding of the role and how much difference it makes to the king has been absolutely outstanding.

“This role is not something that she’d be a natural for but she does it really well. She provides that change of speed and tone, that’s equally important,” Anne added. Charles met Camilla Parker Bowles in 1970 at a polo match, after being introduced by Anne. When she met Britain’s future king, Camilla famously remarked: “My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather. “I feel we have something in common.”

At the time, Anne was romantically linked to British military officer Andrew Parker Bowles, Camilla’s future husband, who the now-queen married in a Roman Catholic ceremony in 1973. Charles would go on to marry Diana, Princess of Wales, in July 1981. Five years later, his affair with ex-girlfriend Camilla was reignited, eventually leading to Charles and Diana announcing their separation in 1992. They announced their engagement in February 2005 before tying the knot at Windsor Guildhall on 8 April 2005 – 35 years after their first meeting.

Elsewhere in the new documentary, Charles III: The Coronation Year, Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot described the king and queen as “yin and yang” – meaning two opposite parts of one complementary whole. Elliot, who was one of Camilla’s two Ladies in Attendance at the coronation in May, reportedly said the king and queen are “polar opposites” but their relationship works “brilliantly” because they add value to each other’s lives in different ways. She said: “[Camilla] is his rock, and I can’t actually emphasise that enough. She’s somebody who is completely loyal and she isn’t somebody who has huge highs and lows.”

Meanwhile, Charles’s interest and knowledge in a wide variety of subjects has enriched Camilla’s life, Elliot added. “They are yin and yang, really. They really are polar opposites. But I think it works brilliantly.” Charles III: The Coronation Year will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 6.50pm on 26 December.