New Portrait Of Duchess Of Cornwall At Home Released To Mark 73rd Birthday

Jul 16, 2020 by apost team

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall turns 73 today. To mark the special occasion, Clarance House released a new photo of her.

In honor of the Duchess, we've also compiled some lesser-known facts about her. 

As Camilla turns 73 years old today, Clarence House released a new portrait of the Duchess of Cornwall sporting a bright blue dress in her garden.

"A new photograph of The Duchess of Cornwall has been released to mark Her Royal Highness’s 73rd birthday tomorrow," the photo is captioned. "The photo was taken earlier this week in the garden of Clarence House."

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The Duchess of Cornwall was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17, 1947, at King's College Hospital in London. She was the first child of parents Major Bruce Shand and his wife, the Honourable Rosalind Shand.

As her father was Vice Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, she spent a lot of her younger days socializing with Britain’s royalty before she got married into it.

Camilla is 16 months older than her husband Prince Charles, who was born on November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace. They first met in their early 20s at a polo match, according to Good Housekeeping.

One of the things Camilla is best known for is her affinity with dogs. According to Hello!, her royal Jack Russell terriers are both rescue dogs, with Camilla adopting Beth from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in London in 2011 and Bluebell the year after. The dogs are often seen accompanying the Duchess and Charles to royal engagements, such as the Dumfries House Dog Show in Cumnock, Scotland, in 2015 and 2017.

A week ago, the Clarence House's Instagram page posted a photo of Camilla walking Beth. She had this to say about our furry friends:

"The nice thing about dogs is you can sit them down, you could have a nice long conversation, you could be cross, you could be sad and they just sit looking at you wagging their tail!”

The public did not initially accept her, especially following Princess Diana’s death in 1997, but she married Prince Charles in 2005.

Clarence House made the official announcement on February 10, 2005, that Prince Charles was to marry Camilla. On April 9, 2005, the couple married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, Berkshire. After the civil vows, the Prince and Duchess held a service of blessing at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, which was attended by the royal family including Queen Elizabeth II.

According to Britannica, Camilla's full royal title is 'Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order'.

BBC reported that Camilla is a big fan of British TV dance show Strictly Come Dancing, and even once visited the show's set.

The Duchess sat next to judge Craig Revel Horwood as she watched McBusted drummer Harry Judd rehearse with partner Aliona Vilani before giving the pop star a congratulatory score of "nine!" The royal is seen here dancing with Arthur Edwards at a Tea Party on her visit to Bristol, England on Valentine's Day in 2017.

As a royal wife herself, Camilla has provided support to daughter-in-law Kate Middleton and the pair are said to be very close. There are many instances of the two looking chummy with the other, like this one at Trooping the Colour in 2017.

To mark Camilla joining the royal family, a new rose was named the Duchess of Cornwall in 2005.

The rose is described as a very double apricot flower with an old fashioned, quartered bloom form with up to 100 petals, and a light, spicy fragrance.

In her free time, the Duchess is known to enjoy reading, fishing, gardening, and taking walks with her dogs, according to Hello!.

In April, the Duchess revealed that she has been having "secret dance lessons" with her “ancient friends." Her weekly ballet lessons are understood to be specially designed for older learners, with trainers who specialize in teaching ballet for the over-55s.

The now 73-year-old is famously down to earth and is known for providing a touch of humor—and great candid moments—during royal engagements. She is also very active in charity work.

In 2015, Camilla visited Wimbledon where she watched Scotting tennis player Andy Murray. At the end of the match, Murray threw his wristband up to the Duchess in the Royal Box. Camilla decided to put the signed wristband on eBay, and it eventually sold for £2,100 (≈ US$2,643), which was donated to the Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust.

Join us in wishing Camilla a very happy birthday in the comments and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones!