Queen Camilla’s support privately and publicly is now more important than ever for the King
It’s a pattern, I’m told, that we’re going to have to get used to over the coming weeks.
Seeing the King travel to London for short amounts of time for treatment and meetings before heading off to one of his homes in the countryside to rest. Leaving the Queen to hold the fort, publicly at least.
Since Buckingham Palace announced the King has cancer it’s been up to Camilla to travel the country, rattling through a dozen engagements, and bringing a new unintentional focus onto her work.
She’s doing a good job of putting on a brave face.
It was all smiles as she was surrounded by a glittering array of acting royalty at a Shakespeare event this week.
The King was also due to be there. Instead, Camilla, on her own, was affectionately given a knitted jumper with an enormous red heart on it for Valentines by Gyles Brandreth, and another one to take back to the love of her life.
Queen Camilla meets dames for a celebration of a Shakespeare event. Pic: PA
That Camilla would be his Queen and centre stage in this way would once have been unthinkable to some.
Ingrid Seward has been the Editor of Majesty magazine since the 1980s and told me for a long time they wouldn’t put Camilla on the cover.
“When Camilla first became truly visible with Prince Charles, our readers didn’t like her… the turnaround has been very gradual, and people’s memories are very short.
“They probably don’t remember that she was so vilified and hated and she was, actually, after Diana died, she was a complete prisoner in her own house. So much so that Prince Charles’s chef used to prepare meals and they would be sent round to her.”
‘Indifference but not full acceptance’
Opinion has undoubtedly softened over the years. But at times it feels more like indifference rather than full acceptance.
For example, not everyone accepts her new title.
Outside the London Clinic, some passers-by were confused when we said the Queen was visiting the King.
King Charles and Queen Camilla leaving The London Clinic last month.
File pic: AP
“We don’t have a Queen anymore,” they said – the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II is so strong.
Talking to other royal journalists they also find that any positive stories about Camilla do still get negative comments.
The palace doesn’t appear overly worried.
One insider said to me: “This isn’t a popularity contest, it’s public service”, stressing how Camilla, despite obviously being concerned for her husband, has been “determined for his sake, and the sake of the institution, to keep to the diary of engagements”.
Watch her at work and you can’t fault the way she gets stuck in.
At an event in Bath, she was on her hands and knees scrabbling about on the floor helping a pensioner to find the name badge she’d just dropped.
It’s an easy manner that means people open up, the pensioner in question, offering some words of sympathy, “it’s not easy for you people to have something, it’s always in the papers”, she said reflecting on the King’s diagnosis.
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Queen showcases her table tennis skills
What has helped the Queen to find her feet is a loyal group of women she’s met through her charity work.
Relationships that have grown closer and into friendships over time because of Camilla’s dedication to certain causes like domestic violence, osteoporosis, and literacy.
Maggie’s, the cancer charity, was one of the first patronages she took on after marrying Prince Charles.
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Camilla possesses ‘magical skill’
Chief executive Dame Laura Lee first met her in 2008 and said Camilla’s always known what’s been expected of her.
“Obviously she’s come into the family but I think she understands the role of service of giving and giving back and with that receiving the sense of making a difference to people’s lives.
“From the first day that I met her 15 years ago it was there… her curiosity and interest in people, her humour. She always, I think, leaves the room with people feeling better than when they arrived and that is a very magical skill that’s particular to her.”
This coming week her diary is again looking busy with receptions.
We’re also expecting to see the King’s first meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in person since his diagnosis.
On Tuesday, he surprised guests at one of Camilla’s events at Clarence House by sticking his head around the door and waving.
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It’s fair to say he’s feeling frustrated that he’s not allowed to do more, but those are doctors’ orders and I’m told he’s full of admiration for how his wife is picking up the public duties.
Royal sources tell me her influence is also strongly felt inside the palace.
Like Prince Philip, you could say she’s the monarch’s eyes and ears. The King listens to her opinions and that’s led to changes in how things are done.
Whatever others might think of her, Camilla’s support privately and publicly is now more important than ever for her husband, as they face another difficult phase in their lives together.
The UK has seen its warmest start to May on record as temperatures soared to over 29C in the spring sunshine.
The Met Office said 29.3C (84.7F) had been recorded at Kew Gardens in southwest London, passing the previous 1 May record of 27.4C (81.3F) set in Lossiemouth in 1990.
Thursday was also the warmest day of the year so far, beating the previous high of 26.7C (80F) reached in Wisley, Surrey, on Wednesday.
Follow latest updates: May record broken
The seafront in Southend-on-Sea. Pic: PA
But the heat is not expected to last for the bank holiday weekend, with cooler weather starting to drift in from the north on Friday.
Temperatures are expected to ease by Friday and Saturday, meaning cooler conditions of 14C to 18C across the UK.
Stephen Dixon, a Met Office spokesman, said: “Temperatures tomorrow will be slightly reduced from what we’ve seen today, possibly 26 or 27 degrees in the far southeast of England through the day tomorrow.”
What has led to the hot spell?
Forecasters said the hot spell has been due to the jet stream remaining stuck north of the country, allowing high pressure to settle.
Last month was also the sunniest April in the UK since records began in 1910, with 47% more sunshine hours than the long-term meteorological average, and the third warmest April on record, according to provisional Met Office figures.
Rainfall was well below average for most of the UK last month, with just 56% of expected totals recorded.
And Tyne and Wear had its second driest April on record, with only 7% of its usual rainfall.
Boy’s body recovered from lake
Meanwhile, the recovery of a 16-year-old boy’s body from a lake in Nottingham prompted emergency services to warn about swimming in lakes and rivers.
Chief Inspector David Mather, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to highlight this case as a reminder of the devastating consequences of entering open water – regardless of whether people do so deliberately or inadvertently.”
A lifeguard at London Fields Lido in east London. Pic: Reuters
The London Fire Brigade said its crews responded to 565 water-related incidents last year and have already attended around 160 in the first quarter of this year, with incidents ranging from rescuing people to animals stranded on lakes and ponds.
‘Water temperatures can be dangerously cold’
Assistant commissioner for prevention and protection Craig Carter said. “Even when the sun is shining, water temperatures can be dangerously cold. Cold water shock can affect anyone, no matter how fit or experienced they are. It can lead to water inhalation, and, in the worst cases, drowning.”
People enjoy their ice creams during in St James’s Park, London. Pic: PA
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) offered similar warnings, advising those planning to swim at a lifeguarded beach to swim between the red and yellow flags.
Fire services warned that the warm weather means there is a “heightened” risk of grass and wildfires which can spread more easily during the dry spell, as firefighters have been battling what they described as a large wildfire in the Peak District.
The RAC also cautioned drivers on the roads, with spokesman Rod Dennis saying breakdowns are expected to “soar”, while the NHS reported searches for hay fever advice had doubled from Monday to Wednesday.
Police have revealed details around the dismissal of the co-instructor in a fatal paddleboarding trip.
Nerys Lloyd was jailed last month for the gross negligence manslaughter of Paul O’Dwyer, 42, Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24, and Nicola Wheatley, 40.
The 39-year-old had also pleaded guilty to one offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The four were part of a stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) tour of the River Cleddau in Pembrokeshire.
They got into difficulty after their paddleboards passed over a weir in the town of Haverfordwest during “extremely hazardous conditions” in October 2021.
Lloyd was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, the firm which had organised the tour.
(L-R) Nicola Wheatley, Andrea Powell, Paul O’Dwyer and Morgan Rogers. Pics: Family handouts (via South Wales Police)
The defendant, who worked as a firearms officer for South Wales Police, was separately accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour.
The misconduct hearing took place on 14 January 2022, but the publication of the outcome was postponed.
Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, South Wales Police has published the outcome of the hearing, which details that Lloyd was accused of making a fraudulent insurance claim.
Lloyd was dismissed without notice and placed on the police barred list.
Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court after her plea hearing. Pic: PA
The decision on the outcome, compiled after the hearing, states that Lloyd did not attend it and neither had she submitted a written response to the allegations.
Lloyd made a claim against the South Wales Police Federation group insurance scheme for her vehicle’s repair costs.
The cost of the work to repair the vehicle was somewhere between £16 and £20 but the insurance claim made by Lloyd was for £577.55.
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The report into her dismissal states that, when the matter came to light, she admitted her wrongdoing and immediately apologised.
She was interviewed under caution on 11 October 2021, less than three weeks before the fatal paddleboarding tour.
When interviewed by police, Lloyd said she had made a “massive error of judgement” in relation to the insurance claim and she later repaid the amount in full.
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