Queen Camillas friends used to call her Lorraine, a play on le Reine

Queen Camilla has always wanted to be queen. She refused to even be called “Queen Consort,” and she especially did not want to be called Princess Consort, which was the compromise Charles and his staff worked out when Charles married Camilla in 2005. Back then, Camilla was loathed across the board, so Charles promised that when he became king, Camilla would be “Princess Consort.” Then in 2022, in QEII’s final months, Charles manipulated his mother into “signing off” on calling Camilla “queen consort.” As soon as QEII was dead, wouldn’t you know, “consort” got dropped in a hurry. All of which to say, Camilla and her friends can neigh their denials until they’re blue in the face, but we’ve always known that Camilla waged a decades-long campaign all for this. Now that stupid new Robert Hardman biography of Charles admits as much too. Apparently, Camilla’s friends always called her “Lorraine,” a play on “le Reine.”

Queen Camilla was affectionately given the nickname of ‘Lorraine’ – a play on the French for the Queen, la Reine – by family and friends. The amusing revelation is made in the latest instalment of Robert Hardman’s new biography of King Charles being exclusively serialised by the Daily Mail.

Back in the days when it seemed there was no question of the then Duchess of Cornwall becoming Queen, Hardman writes, her family gave her the nickname ‘Lorraine’. ‘She always saw the funny side of that – even if Prince Charles did not,’ says a friend.

Her change in circumstances even came as a shock to Camilla herself. Hardman reveals that it took quite some time before the new Queen would even respond to her new status. Passing references or memos or questions to ‘Her Majesty’ would meet with blank looks until it suddenly dawned that they were referring to her. Her presence has, notably, had a soothing effect on the King.

Hardman says: ‘Now, people are worried about upsetting the King. They know he can get very cross about quite minor things and they have yet to find out how he will react in certain situations. At the same time, they know that Queen Camilla is a strong voice of common sense in that regard.’

The King’s old university friend, Lord Chartres, adds: ‘That’s one of the reasons why Queen Camilla is so marvellous. She can be robust in her views and that allows him to relax. When things go wrong and you have to keep being nice, you need an intimate who can talk you down.’

Camilla is indeed described as an ‘intrinsically happy character’ who lifts the mood around her ‘and, more importantly, around the King’.

‘She has got a great twinkle and it comes out very readily,’ says the Marchioness of Lansdowne, one of her oldest friends. ‘It puts people at their ease very quickly… She knows when to wink at a bishop, but when not to – which I think is a rather endearing quality.’

[From The Daily Mail]

“Passing references or memos or questions to ‘Her Majesty’ would meet with blank looks until it suddenly dawned that they were referring to her.” No, I actually understand that because for the past year, someone will say or write something about “the queen,” and I’m like “wait, when did QEII do that?” Then it occurs to me that they’re talking about Camilla. Anyway, they’re laying it on pretty thick, which shows you which offices briefed Robert Hardman. This book is heavily sourced from Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, which begs the question… why are they still trying to convince everyone that QEII was incandescent with rage over her great-granddaughter’s name? Also: Camilla would absolutely prefer for people to know her “Lorraine” nickname rather than the nickname Diana created for her: The Rottweiler.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Buckingham Palace.

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