From ‘wicked witch’ to ‘fairy godmother’: Queen Camilla’s evolution, through her photographers’ eyes

When the former Camilla Parker Bowles invests and is crowned queen alongside her husband, King Charles III, this weekend, it will be the culmination of a remarkable transformation.

Two years before her death in 1997, the late Princess Diana famously referred to Camilla as the “third person” in her marriage to Prince Charles.

The mistress label – and the stigma attached to it – would stick around for years, including after Queen Elizabeth II gave Charles and Camilla her blessing and the couple married in 2005.

But those who have followed her evolution from subject of mockery to adulation say they believe Saturday’s coronation ceremony will see the 75-year-old Camilla’s identity transformation complete – and get it all.

“She was a wicked witch, but now she’s a fairy godmother,” said Arthur Edwards, who has photographed members of the Royal Family for Britain’s The Sun newspaper for the past 45 years.

“They will be out there [at the coronation] waving at people and will scream with joy when he’s done.”

While polls suggest that Camilla still trails the other Royals in popularity – including the queen’s youngest son, Edward, and his wife, Sophie – her ratings have continued to improve over the years.

During his long career, Edwards, now 82, has enjoyed a unique and privileged relationship with members of the royal household, including the late Queen. On many occasions, he was the only outside photographer invited to accompany the family on special events and occasions.

But in a pre-coronation interview with CBC News at The Sun’s London offices, it was clear Edwards had a special affection for King Charles and Camilla — an honor he reciprocated, he said.

“I call him ma’am, he calls me Arthur,” Edwards said of his association with Camilla, who until the coronation remained Queen Consort.

‘He has real energy’

After Diana’s death, Charles famously hired Canadian-born public relations guru Marc Boland, who is often credited with helping restore Camilla’s image.

But Edwards believes his next success has nothing to do with consulting. He says it is because of his genuine interest in the cause that he has championed it.

The Royal Family website says Camilla is patron or president of 90 charities, including Coram Beanstalk, which promotes children’s literacy, and Brooke, an animal welfare organisation.

“I think it’s hard work,” Edwards said, noting the many charities Camilla is associated with. “I went to a prison where there was an inmate who was struggling to read and they encouraged him. He got thousands of books sent to him.”

“Osteoporosis, the death of his mother, he has campaigned for it, along with many other charities he has embraced. And of course, he does not do things part-time – he gives everything,” said Edwards.

Other royal photographers who have spent years following the couple around the world offer similar assessments.

“He has real energy,” Chris Jackson told Getty Images. “At the age of many people who have retired, they have stepped up to the biggest job of their lives.”

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Jackson has just published a book of Charles and Camilla’s favorite photos over the years, it is said Charles III: King and Queen.

She told CBC News that together, the photos reveal positive character traits in Camilla that will allow her to thrive in her new role.

Included among them are some pictures of Camilla wearing a colorful and beautiful face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Obviously, [COVID] there was a negative, it was not something everyone liked, but he embraced it and turned it into a positive. They show different British designer masks,” Jackson said.

tabloid fodder

The evolution of Charles and Camilla’s relationship, including the scurrilous details of the breakdown of their previous marriage, has been a staple of Britain’s tabloids for decades.

Few celebrity couples have to endure endless and invasive publicity about their private lives.

The couple met and became close in the early 1970s, but ended up marrying other people – Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973 and Charles married Diana Spencer in 1981.

Charles finally admitted to having an ongoing affair with Camilla, in a famous 1994 interview with journalist Jonathan Dimbleby. A year later, Diana followed her own confirmation on the BBC Panorama program, which said that the couple’s marriage has been “crowded.”

At the time, Diana was one of the most famous women in the world, admired globally for her important charity work and gaining sympathy for the misdeeds of Charles and members of the royal family.

In 1997, Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles were divorced, as were Charles and Diana. That summer, Diana was killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris while trying to avoid the paparazzi.

When Camilla and Charles were finally able to be together, Buckingham Palace proceeded with caution, knowing the revered place that Diana was remembered by many.

It took another eight years before the Queen gave her blessing to the union. It was only in February 2022, a few months before the Queen’s death, that she said she wanted Camilla to be known as Queen Consort, “when the time comes.”

Then in April, when the official invitations for the coronation were sent out, the title “Empress” was dropped, leaving Camilla alone as the new queen of Britain.

Notably, there is no opposition among the monarchy’s supporters over Camilla’s upcoming title change.

‘It was an amazing moment’

For Jackson, the Getty photographer, there have been many moments – and images – since Queen Elizabeth’s death in September that helped ensure Camilla’s promotion to Britain’s new Queen was smooth.

She said one of her favorites was a photo of Camilla surrounded by Paddington Bears.

For her 70th Jubilee in June 2022, Queen Elizabeth recalled making a play with fictional children’s characters, where the couple had tea at Buckingham Palace while discussing their love for marmalade sandwiches.

After his death, many admirers left stuffed Paddington Bears at the gates of Buckingham Palace and other royal residences. They were then collected and taken to Clarence House, where Camilla posed with them, and Jackson took her photo.

“I think it symbolizes the respect that everyone has for Queen Elizabeth and the fact that the public has taken notice of Paddington Bear,” Jackson said. “It was an amazing moment.”

Arthur Edwards, who took one of the most famous photographs of the Queen, standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee, said he would try to do the same at the coronation with Charles and Camilla.

Beyond the countless photos that have been taken of the couple over the years, Edwards said it is the moments of personal interaction that are the most valuable, and which have informed his views on Camilla.

“I made a program [on BBC Radio] called Desert Island Discs and I told a story about the King [Charles]”, he said. “Three days later, I got a letter from Balmoral [Castle, one of the Royal residences]. It’s a handwritten letter from Camilla that says, ‘Dar Arthur, I’m in tears listening to all the nice things you say about my husband.’

“He’s not afraid to express his love for this guy, and I’m just telling you all,” Edwards said.