How the world has learnt to love Camilla

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall was once one of Britain's most hated women. Photo / Getty Images

On the eve of her 10th wedding anniversary to the Prince of Wales, a poll supports the Duchess of Cornwall one day becoming Queen. She has grown elegantly into her role, says Penny Junor.

The Duchess of Cornwall was so nervous on the morning of her wedding to the Prince of Wales, 10 years ago tomorrow, that she had to be coaxed out of bed. Who could blame her? Camilla Parker Bowles, as she then was, had surely been one of the most hated women in Britain, the "third person" in the marriage that Princess Diana had memorably said made it "a bit crowded".

What stuck most in people's throats was the prospect of this woman, universally reviled for wrecking the royal marriage, one day becoming Queen. But the Palace was quick to assure the public that this would never happen; when the time came, she would be known as the Princess Consort. This week, however, a new poll to coincide with their 10th wedding anniversary, shows that a majority of people now believe that Camilla should become Queen when Charles accedes to the throne. Time is a great healer - and it is nearly 18 years since Diana died - but it is still an extraordinary achievement to have swayed public opinion so dramatically. Little by little she has won people over.

I remember arriving in Windsor at 5.30am on the day of their wedding in 2005, to talk about it on breakfast television. It was a Saturday, a day later than originally planned. The date they had chosen clashed with the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome, which prompted doom-mongers to say it was jinxed. The streets were deserted. It was freezing cold and just one brave family had camped overnight opposite Guildhall, where the civil ceremony was due to take place at 12.30pm. I couldn't help thinking back to the hundreds of people who had camped for days along the route between Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral for Charles and Diana's wedding 24 years before.

Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, on their wedding day in 2005. Photo / Getty Images

The Prince's enduring love for Camilla and his refusal to give her up at any price had split the nation in two and proved perilously dangerous for the monarchy. The couple had bided their time, eight years had passed since Diana's death and attitudes had softened, but no one knew for sure what the public reaction to their marriage would be - or what the public would make of the woman Diana had called "the Rottweiler". She was a familiar face but to most people an unknown quantity.

By 10am a smattering of people had arrived, but there were many more policemen than onlookers. After all the argument that raged in the media in the weeks beforehand about whether it was right or wrong for the country, good or bad for William and Harry, what title Camilla should be given, and what Diana would have thought, it looked as though the public's overriding emotion would be apathy.

Not so. Half an hour later the pavements were suddenly filled with crowds of people chattering excitedly to one another. There were a couple of protesters but they were drowned out by the rest who, though they might not yet know what they thought about Camilla, were delighted that Charles had finally taken the plunge and wed the woman he had loved for more than 30 years. He looked like the cat who had got the cream; she looked tentative and slightly fragile and was clearly relieved not to have been booed or pelted with bread rolls. The crowds warmed to her.

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, in 1992. Photo / Getty Images

Taking the plunge had never been a simple matter. As one of their Household says: "It was a matter of huge constitutional and political importance and you had to court the approval of the Queen, Number 10, the Archbishop of Canterbury and a few others besides." It was also crucial to both Charles and Camilla that William and Harry should be happy about the marriage, and that had taken time. The boys had loved their mother and knew what she thought of Camilla; but equally they could see that their father had been lonely and that this woman lit up his life. He was more fun to be with when she was around. Their allegiance had inevitably been torn but now they were grown-up, they knew that things were never black and white. And so the marriage - that at one time had seemed unthinkable - finally happened, with William and Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla's son, acting as witnesses.

Camilla got it just right that day, and has been getting it right ever since. She had no ambition to be a princess or duchess or even queen; she simply wanted to be with, and support, the Prince of Wales. Their marriage has given him a new lease of life. For so many years he had kept Camilla hidden, terrified they would be seen together by the paparazzi. Being able to have her alongside him at receptions and dinners, and to show her off on state occasions and foreign tours, has made the job so much more enjoyable. She understands him perfectly, knows how to handle him, how to snap him out of his darker moods, she is interested in him and shares his love of the countryside, of painting, of gardening, of horses and dogs and all the things that torment him too. And the pride he takes in her is touching.

She had been a housewife and mother, living in the country surrounded by dogs and horses and had never had a career. So she has worked harder in the past 10 years than in the previous 57. Travelling all over the world with the Prince, she has had a miraculous affect on him. He is happier, more relaxed and more confident than ever before. Working alongside him on royal duties, chatting, smiling and co-operating with photographers, she has given a much-needed boost to his profile, allowing him to shine, while never threatening to overshadow him. Wisely, she has built up her workload slowly but is now patron or president of no fewer than 90 charities; and those that I have spoken to have nothing but the very highest praise for the work she does for them.

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's 2013 Christmas card. Photo / Getty Images

She looks the part, with beautifully styled hair, professional make-up and designer kit, but for all the change in her appearance and lifestyle, she has no airs and graces, is still down to earth, friendly and fun and relishes life outside the royal goldfish bowl. She has her house in the country to which she escapes as and when the Prince's diary allows, and she revels in seeing her children and grandchildren whenever she can. People who meet her cannot fail to warm to her. And as someone who has not chased eternal youth under the surgeon's knife, but seems happy in her own skin, I can't help thinking she is a great role model to women of a certain age.

So when the moment does come for the Prince of Wales to become King, the woman at his side will be one of style, substance and support. Given that she is all those things to him, it would only be fitting that she become his Queen too.