The secrets of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s success

Plus my trip to Sandringham and why the King is opening up

‘Whenever I think of the King and Queen together, I picture them giggling’

Hi everyone,

I took some time off over Easter and found myself up in Norfolk on a family holiday with my parents and siblings. Despite my best efforts to take a break from the royal beat, we obviously ended up visiting Sandringham. And it turns out we missed the King by just a few days.

It was good to see him in action this week viewing new banknotes bearing his image and calling in to see the Vin + Omi sustainable fashion exhibition in the Sandringham Ballroom, but arguably the most important date in his diary came yesterday, when he marked his 19^th wedding anniversary to Queen Camilla. Husband and wife celebrated privately, having enjoyed a break up in Scotland after Easter.

But it got me thinking about how much things have changed since their rather unusual royal wedding. On April 9, 2005, I was a reporter on a national newspaper and remember watching with colleagues as they emerged from Windsor Guildhall after their registry office marriage. It’s fair to say that public feeling towards Camilla in particular was not as warm as it is now, nearly two decades later, and that was reflected in some of the conversations I overheard on the day.

Fast forward to 2024 and the now King and Queen have come a very long way. And despite the challenges of a new reign, family tensions and the King’s cancer diagnosis, it seems to me that they have finally found their happy ending.

So why has their union proved to be such a success?