Queen Camilla’s court: Meet the royal’s unlikely inner circle made up of journalists, actresses and a former MP

NZ Herald

3 May, 2023 01:38 AM6 mins to read

Camilla poses with Twiggy, Felicity Kendall and Gyles Brandreth as she Duchess celebrates her 75th birthday at a lunch, hosted by the Oldie Magazine in London. Photo / Getty Images

The Coronation on May 6 is fast approaching and, while many are paying homage to the future King and his future reign, it will also be a defining moment for Camilla, who will be crowned Queen.

The event is set to be a family affair for the couple, including Charles’ grandson Prince George and Camilla’s grandchildren as pages of honour, and members from both sides of the family will attend the coronation.

However, its not just Camilla’s family who will be supporting the Queen during her new reign, according to Daily Mail.

Her loyal inner circle is filled with enthusiastic supporters, from movie stars and politicians to friends she’s known for decades, who are prepared to defend the royal at all costs.

Annabel Elliot

Camilla’s younger sister, Annabel Elliot, is an interior designer and antiques dealer.

Elliot, who has been described as her sister’s quieter counterpart, will be at the royal’s side throughout the coronation, serving as one of her ladies in attendance.

Tom Parker Bowles

Tom Parker Bowles is Camilla’s oldest child and a firm supporter of her and Charles.

The former publicist revealed to A Current Affair in 2005: “All you care about your parents is they’re happy and my mother is exceptionally happy at the moment.

“I’ve always adored my stepfather; he’s always been a kind and good and lovely man.”

Laura Lopes

Laura Parker-Bowles (now Lopes) and Tom Parker-Bowles leave after Charles and Camilla's wedding Photo / Getty Images

Camilla’s youngest daughter, Laura Lopes, reportedly has a happy relationship with her step-brothers, William and Harry, as well as Kate, Princess of Wales.

Lopes was spotted at a lunch with the princess, her sister Pippa and Camilla before Kate and William’s wedding in 2011.

Andrew Parker Bowles

Camilla has reportedly remained close with her former husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, who is attending the coronation as a guest.

What’s more, it will be his second coronation, as he served as a page at the late Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 when he was 13 years old.

Speaking on Andrew’s close friendship with the future Queen, a friend said: “They are joined at the hip.

“He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.”

Judi Dench

Actress Dame Judi Dench has been spotted with the royal on multiple occasions.

The pair famously visited Queen Victoria’s holiday home of Osborne House in East Cowes together and chatted over vanilla ice creams.

Dench is a vocal supporter of Camilla’s Reading Room, which aims to encourage an appreciation of literature, and even attended a reception for the charity in 2021.

Joanna Lumley

Dame Joanna Lumley has proven to be a staunch supporter and friend of the royal, attending Camilla’s wedding to Charles in 2005 and her 75th birthday last year.

What’s more, the Absolutely Fabulous star slammed Netflix’s The Crown for its portrayal of Camilla and revealed she doesn’t watch the programme as a result.

She said: “Suddenly, it began to get closer and closer and they had people acting as Prince Charles, as Camilla Parker Bowles, as Princess Anne. I know them all.

“I know that’s not how they speak or what they said or did. People say, ‘Oh, well everybody knows that it’s made up’. People don’t, people think it’s the truth.

“So I decided not to watch it anymore because I have some loyalty, as one would to anybody they know and like and are lucky enough to be friendly with. It’s rather ghastly.”

Gyles Brandreth

A long-term friend of Camilla’s, Gyles Brandreth, met the royal when she was a teenager at her grandparent’s house, Hall Place.

The former Conservative MP revealed on BBC Radio 4′s Just a Minute that he had a “secret crush” on Camilla back in the day, later later shared on Lorraine that when he was 16 years old, he spotted a “rather attractive girl” in the gardens.

He described the young 17-year-old Camilla as “wearing jodhpurs” and “smoking her Woodbines in the shrubbery”.

Brandreth later admitted to feeling “a little bit awkward”, adding that a week after the show, Camilla had run into his wife.

“She said: “Tell Gyles, I don’t deny that I was smoking, but they were not Woodbines”,” he told show host Lorraine Kelly.

Brandreth famously wrote a biography of Camilla and Charles entitled Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair and hosted the royal’s 75th birthday lunch.

Petronella Wyatt

Journalist and author Petronella Wyatt was also a harsh critic of Netflix’s The Crown for the way it portrayed Camilla as “a scarlet-taloned temptress who spent years scheming to ensnare another woman’s husband”.

While on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Wyatt also accused Camilla’s stepson Prince Harry of “tremendous” and “breathtaking” hypocrisy for slandering the royal in his explosive memoir Spare and “taking a very nasty potshot at a 75-year-old woman who can’t answer back”.

“If anyone accused Meghan of scheming her way into marriage for the royal family... that creates howls from Harry, so why is he doing the same thing to Camilla?”

Wyatt went on to gush about the future Queen: “I came to like Camilla very much because she’s a very modest, no frills, down-to-earth person... the absolute opposite of a schemer.

“She wouldn’t know how to scheme, she couldn’t even spell it on a Scrabble board. She’s genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

Sarah Troughton

One of the ”Queen’s Companions”, Sarah Troughton has been Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire since 2012 and is the first woman to hold the position since its creation in the 16th century.

Troughton is Charles’ second cousin as her grandfather was Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s, brother.

Admiring the royal on Good Morning Britain last year, Troughton said: “I don’t think there’s much that will surprise you, all I can tell you is that she’s the nicest, kindest, most amusing friend one could possibly have, to all generations, that includes our children.”