The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall thanked the royal family and members of the public via social media for all the warm wishes.
Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, turned 74 on Saturday, 17 July. In honor of her birthday, the Duchess received a number of wishes from members of the Royal Family, reports PEOPLE.
Queen Elizabeth II, 95, made sure to wish her daughter-in-law a happy birthday first from The Royal Family's Twitter account early Saturday morning. The account shared a portrait of the smiling Duchess, along with the caption: "Wishing The Duchess of Cornwall a very happy birthday today! #HappyBirthdayHRH."
Kate Middleton and Prince William also wished the septuagenarian on her special day by sharing a smiling picture of hers on social media. "Wishing the Duchess of Cornwall a very happy birthday today," they wrote, alongside the photo.
Her husband, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall thanked the royal family and members of the public via social media for all the warm wishes with a caption that said: "Thank you for all the birthday wishes for The Duchess of Cornwall 🎂"
The Duchess was born Camilla Rosemary Shand to Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand and the Hon. Rosalind Maud Shand in 1947 at the King’s College Hospital, in London, according to the Duchess of Cornwall's official website. The eldest of three children, Camilla was first educated at Dumbrells School, a co-ed school in Sussex. She then attended Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington. From there, she went on to pursue her education at the Mon Fertile School in Switzerland and later, at the Institut Britannique in Paris.
Per Hello!, Camilla, Lord Ashcombe's granddaughter, spent most of her free time hunting.
Good Housekeeping reports that immediately after her education, she landed a job at the decorating firm Colefax and Fowler as an assistant, but it didn't end too well. She got fired because she came in late to work one day because of a dance the night before.
Around the same time, the self-confident woman, fondly referred to as Milla, first met Andrew Parker Bowles at a debutante party. He was also a party lover, like Camilla, but was also highly regarded as an officer in the Household Cavalry.
However, during the early 70s, while attending a polo match in Windsor, Camilla —who was rather tom-boyish—was introduced to Charles via a mutual friend. The two became fast friends, which then blossomed into a romance. Soon, Camilla was spending a lot of time in the Prince's apartments in Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, their romance was short-lived, because Charles joined the Royal Navy in 1971, making it very difficult for the pair to see each other.
Also, her reputation as a "party girl", along with her lower social standing, pressurized Queen Elizabeth's eldest son to look for a different bride.
Eventually, the two ended their relationship which prompted Camilla to reignite her relationship with Andrew. She got married to him in 1973 and went on to have two children with him. However, their marriage ended in a divorce, in 1995. Prince Charles, meanwhile, got married to Lady Diana Spencer. Despite being married to different people, the two remained friends.
After Diana's tragic death in 1997, Charles and Camilla chose to stay away from the limelight, but by 1999, they'd re-emerged in public. Eventually, members of the royal family and the public began accepting the two as a couple, and they got married on April 9, 2005. Since her marriage to the Prince of Wales, "The Duchess of Cornwall has become Patron or President of a number of charities and regularly attends events to support them. To find out more about Her Royal Highness's charitable work," states the official website.
Now, "The Duchess of Cornwall supports her husband, The Prince of Wales, in carrying out his work and duties as Heir to the Throne. She also undertakes public engagements on behalf of the charities that she supports."
References:
https://people.com/royals/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall-celebrates-74th-birthday/
https://www.royal.uk/the-duchess-of-cornwall
https://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/the-duchess-of-cornwall/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a22615250/camilla-parker-bowles-young-prince-charles/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Eddie Mulholland - WPA Pool
