Duchess Camilla Opened Up About Her Marriage to Prince Charles Not Always Being "Easy"

She posed for Vogue for the first time.

Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles wave
(Image credit: Getty)

Last week, I reported on Kim Kardashian and how—despite what some may think—she has a really strong sense of humor. Now, here's another public figure who, if you didn't know any better, it might surprise you to find out is capable of hilariously and endearingly making fun of herself: none other than Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The Duchess of Cornwall gave her very first interview to British Vogue and sat for a photo shoot at almost 75 years old, which delighted her. The interview starts with the priceless quote from the duchess to the photographer: "Sorry you’ve got to photograph an old bat this morning." I mean!!!

In the interview, the royal was somewhat surprisingly candid about everything from her work with survivors of domestic violence, to her Instagram book club, to playing Wordle with her granddaughter (and being terribly smug about it, too—"It’s very satisfactory when it tells you how brilliant you are," she said).

She also admitted to how difficult it was for her to essentially be seen as the villain who broke up Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage. "I was scrutinized for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it. Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticised and…" she said. "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."

On her marriage to the future King, the duchess also talked about their extremely busy schedules and how it's often difficult to steal a moment together to connect. "It’s not easy sometimes, but we do always try to have a point in the day when we meet," she said.

"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. 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. It’s very relaxing because you know you don’t have to make conversation. You just sit and be together." This is actually... relatable??

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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