Queen Camillais said to have returned from her recent US tour convinced she is now as popular as Kate Middleton, with one insider claiming she privately told the Princess of Wales that she is 'just as popular' and has no intention of stepping back from the spotlight. The reported remarks surfaced afterKing Charles III and Queen Camillacompleted ahigh profile American visitthat royal sources have described as a personal success for the couple.
The trip has been cast in royal circles as a badly needed win for the King and Queen. According to an unnamed source quoted by Star, Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, were 'treated like absolute rock stars' throughout their engagements, with US hosts and officials said to have praised how they represented Britain and helped build goodwill between the two countries. Against that backdrop, comparisons between Camilla and the Princess of Wales have resurfaced in more personal terms.
The insider toldStarthat 'everyone is praising them for how well they represented the U.K. and all the goodwill they created in America between the two countries.' Camilla, the source said, had 'quite a few moments herself,' delivering speeches, leading events and handling the packed schedule with confidence.
'By all accounts, it was a huge success,' the source added, presenting the tour as a reputational boost for a royal figure who has long faced cooler public sentiment than Kate. Wherever the couple went, the insider continued, they were 'treated like absolute rock stars and it absolutely went to her head.'
In the same account, Camilla is described in strikingly loaded terms. 'Camilla is like the cat that ate the canary,' the source claimed. 'It's hard to think of a time when she was more smug than she is right now.' The language gives the report bite, but it also reflects one anonymous version of events rather than any objective measure of public opinion.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the claims, and no official polling or on the record statement is cited to show that Camilla is as popular as the Princess of Wales. For now, the suggestion rests entirely on unnamed sourcing.
Reports of friction between Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales have surfaced repeatedly since Charles became King. AsStarhas previously claimed, palace sources have suggested Camilla resented the wayKate and Prince Williamappeared to overshadow her and Charles in the public imagination, attracting more attention on foreign tours and at major royal events.
According to the latest insider, that insecurity has now shifted into outright self assertion. 'She's spent a lot of time worrying about Kate taking the spotlight from her and being so much more well loved,' the source said. 'But she's now totally changed her tune and is saying she's just as popular' as the 44 year old Princess of Wales.
The source went further, alleging Camilla even addressed Kate directly about their respective roles. They claimed the Queen 'has gone so far as to take Kate aside to tell her' that she and William, 43, 'need to cool their jets because she and Charles have no plans to step aside.'
If true, that would amount to a strikingly blunt intervention in a royal dynamic usually presented as carefully managed and publicly united. It would suggest Camilla has come away from the US trip feeling emboldened, not only about her public image but also about her place within the family hierarchy.
Source: International Business Times UK
