While the royals themselves haven’t referred to this past year as an ‘Annus Horribilis’ publicly, royal watchers the world over seemed poised to at many moments. From King Charles’s cancer diagnosis to that of the Princess of Wales’s, personal turmoil and other health challenges, it’s not been an easy year for the Royal Family. But through it all, Queen Camilla has kept her head up and sailed through one of the most difficult royal years in recent memory. And for several months, she was the royal who kept the family going.
Let’s take a look back at some of her most important moments this year.
Public smiles mask the shock of King Charles’ cancer diagnosis
In January King Charles announced that he needed an operation to treat an enlarged prostate—an announcement that may not have sparked such shock and turmoil had it not come hours after the Princess of Wales also announced that she’d just undergone ‘major abdominal surgery’ and would be out of the public eye through Easter.
In the days before he was admitted to hospital, Queen Camilla told the crowd in Aberdeen that her husband would be “looking forward to getting back to work”. Through it all, Queen Camilla was at her husband’s side; visiting him in the hospital and leaving with him when he was discharged.
Then, on 5 February, King Charles stunned the world with his announcement that he’d been diagnosed with a still-undisclosed form of cancer and would begin treatment immediately.
Speaking to reporters a few days after his diagnosis was made public, Queen Camilla thanked everyone for their well-wishes, saying “We are very touched by all of the letters and messages the public have been sending from everywhere. That’s very cheering.”
Queen Camilla steps up
Naturally, King Charles required a period away from public engagements as he started cancer treatment. And with Prince William helping take care of Catherine—recuperating from abdominal surgery, and who’s cancer diagnosis wouldn’t be revealed until the end of March—some of the major events throughout February and March fell to Queen Camilla.
Some of the events we covered at Royal Central include leading the British Royals at a memorial service for the late King Constantine II of Greece; presenting The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes; handing out coins at the Royal Maundy service—traditionally only done by the Sovereign; traveling to the Isle of Man to confer city status; and leading the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
After a near-two months of this bruising schedule, Queen Camilla would announce a short break to recuperate herself.
The Barbie Queen
Becoming a Barbie doll surely must rank high on the list of honours when you’re famous, and this year Queen Camilla got her own likeness in time for International Women’s Day in March.
The Queen’s office had collaborated with Mattel to style the Queen Camilla Barbie: the miniature wears a blue dress and black cape like the royal’s Fiona Clare dress and Amanda Wakeley cape.
“We were just tickled that the Queen wanted to play Barbie,” Krista Berger, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Dolls, said afterwards.
A poignant visit to her father’s old regiment
Queen Camilla became Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers in June 2023 and has a special connection to the regiment: her father, the late Major Bruce Shand, once served with the 12th Lancers during the Second World War and won the Military Cross after spending two years as a prisoner of war.
This past April, she carried out her first visit to the Royal Lancers. During her visit, Queen Camilla said: ”The Lancers have always struck me for their family spirit, whose comfort and support I experienced as a daughter of the Regiment, and I’m delighted to see so many families and members of the Old Comrades Association here today.”
Her Majesty The Queen and the Order of the Thistle
Though she was granted the honour last year, Queen Camilla was only formally installed as a member of the Order of the Thistle—Scotland’s highest chivalric honour—this past summer.
The special ceremony in Edinburgh saw her formal entrance into the order, with the same honour going to her her brother-in-law, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Championing the victims of domestic violence
Queen Camilla ‘s work on domestic violence was shown in a documentary this year, ‘Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors’, which aired on 11 November.
Pledging to keep her commitment to work with domestic violence survivors and create awareness of the violence they endure and survive, the documentary followed Queen Camilla for a year as she continued this work. After it aired, King Charles told film and television stars that he’d been ‘moved to tears’ watching his wife’s work.
Saying goodbye to Beth
It’s never easy losing a pet, and in November, Queen Camilla said goodbye to her beloved Jack Russell Terrier Beth. In a statement, Buckingham Palace shared that the Queen paid a ‘sad farewell’ to a ‘much loved companion’ who “brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties, or curled up by the fire.”
In Beth’s honour, we took a look back at how Queen Camilla never shied away from publicly sharing how much she loved her dog.
A health scare for The Queen
The year seemed to be almost bookended by health scares. Shortly after their royal tour of Australia and Samoa came to an end in October, Queen Camilla fell ill with an undisclosed health issue and pulled out of several engagements throughout November—including the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey (the Duchess of Gloucester attended in her place), the Festival of Remembrance and Remembrance Sunday events.
Her health continued to be an issue during the Qatari State Visit, requiring the Queen to pull out of a few engagements in order to attend the state banquet; and she missed the Royal Variety Performance as well.
Queen Camilla was later revealed to have been diagnosed with pneumonia.
The book loving Queen
Of course, Queen Camilla’s love of books continued this year. She took her love of literature to Chelsea, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Samoa, and Braemar. She donated books to the Liverpool library after it was set on fire during the riots over the summer; she even sourced book recommendations from Queen Mathilde!
She hosted another iteration of The Queen’s Reading Room Festival and was given an honorary doctorate in Literature from the University of London (presented by her sister-in-law, Princess Anne) and launched the Coronation Library; and after launching a book prize with France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, last year, the duo attended the first Entente Littéraire Prize ceremony in London in December.
The cornerstone of the House of Windsor
In May, Buckingham Palace shared that a review of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s patronages—as well as those by King Charles and Queen Camilla when they were still Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall—had been completed.
While Queen Camilla retained a majority of her earlier patronages, she also assumed a few previously handled by the late queen, including the Army Benevolent Fund, the Royal Academy of Dance, the Royal Literary Fund, the Royal Voluntary Service, and the Sandringham Women’s Institute.
And in December, the King and Queen issued Royal Warrants for the first time since ascending the throne. Among her honorees? Her wedding dress designer, her hairstylist of 30 years, Philip Treacy, her hat designer, and Fortum & Mason.
The year 2024 has been a hard one, personally, for The Queen as she supported her husband through serious illness. In public, Queen Camilla has been the face of the House of Windsor, keeping the Crown front and centre in a year where her work and devotion to duty have been second to none.
