Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
QUEEN Camilla’s family and background has been a popular topic of discussion amongst fans of the Royal Family since the coronation.
Following the ascension of her husband King Charles to the throne, many want to know about her family. Read on to find out more.
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Annabel is an interior designer and a dealer of antiquities.
Annabel spent time abroad studying fine art in Florence, Italy before returning to the UK.
She has her own business based in Dorset called Annabel Elliot Interior Design and Antiques.
The interior designer is also the co-founder of antiques and interiors emporium Talisman.
Following King Charles’ ascension to the throne, Annabel was employed by her brother-in-law as the chief interior designer of his estates.
She has designed the interiors of the cottages on the Isles of Scilly, Restormel Castle cottages and on their estate in Llwynywermod in Wales.
Annabel received recognition for her work in interior design in 2011 after renovating Bovey Castle Hotel in Devon.
In 2011, Bovey Castle Hotel made the Gold List as one of the best places to stay in the world.
In 2014, Annabel was ranked as the fifth most influential female interior designer by the Daily Telegraph.
Along with her impressive design and antiques work, Annabel was a patron of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering from 2005 until it closed in 2015.
She is also a member and patron of the Elephant Family, an international NGO dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant from extinction.
The same NGO her brother Mark Shand was chairman of until he passed away in 2014.
She was married aged 23, to her husband Simon Elliot on April 27, 1972. The couple remained happily married until Simon passed in 2023.
Annabel and Simon shared three children together, including Sir Ben Elliot who was the former Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Annabel was born Sonia Annabel Shand on February 2, 1949. She is the younger sister of Queen Camilla.
She was born in Lambeth, London to her parents Major Bruce Shand and Rosalind Cubitt.
Her mother was an aristocrat and her father was an officer in the British Army.
When her brother-in-law ascended the throne in 2022, Annabel was announced as one of the Queen’s Companions.
A Queen’s Companion is a more modern take on the Lady in waiting role.
She was part of Queen Camilla’s entourage at the Coronation in June 2023.
Annabel and her late husband Simon shared a home in Stourpaine, Dorset.
Reportedly, Annabel still resides in the home she shared with her late husband.