Queen Camilla praises late Queen Elizabeth's sense of duty
Queen Camilla has praised the late Queen Elizabeth II for her strong sense of duty and for "carving her own role" in a male-dominated world.
Queen Camilla has praised the late Queen Elizabeth II for "carving her own role" in a male-dominated world.
The 78-year-old royal - who is married to King Charles - has spoken out about her late mother-in-law's "overriding sense of duty" and reflected on what life must have been like for her when she unexpectedly took the throne in February 1952 at the age of 25 following the death of her father, King George IV.
Speaking in BBC documentary Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Century - which aired on Sunday (19.04.26) and explored the late queen's legacy ahead of the centenary of her birth on Tuesday (21.04.26) - Camilla said: “It must have been so difficult, being surrounded by much older men.
“There weren’t women prime ministers or women presidents. She was the only one, so I think she carved her own role.”
Camilla noted the late queen, who was Britain's longest-serving monarch when she did in September 2022, had a sense of duty which had "overridden everything" else in her life.
She added: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody have a sense of duty like she had."
Months before the queen's death, Elizabeth celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 and Camilla thinks the occasion was just what Great Britain needed after the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said: “I remember there were thousands and thousands of people lining streets, lining The Mall.
“We were all looking for something to cheer us all up … So it was an incredible jubilee.
“She was very much centre stage. I’ve never seen anything like it. Everybody was in a good mood.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, former US president Barack Obama, who stayed with the queen at Buckingham Palace with his wife Michelle during a 2011 state visit, also praised Elizabeth's sense of duty and noted how she is a key part of world history.
He said: "What struck me in every conversation that I had with her was the weight of her experience.
“She did understand the sweep of history. That gave her a respect on the world stage. The combination of the sense of duty with a very human quality of kindness and consideration, and sense of humour.
“I think that’s what made her so beloved, not just in Great Britain, but around the world. By virtue of her having known every world figure through the entire 20th century, she’s a link to history.”
Dame Helen Mirren - who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth in 2006 movie The Queen - described the late monarch as “an intrinsic part of the tapestry of our life”.
She said: “She’d become such an intrinsic part of the tapestry of our life, it was as if you were going to pull a thread and the whole thing was going to fall apart.”
