Queen Camilla: New birthday sports in private estates

A warm smile, her arms leaning on a garden fence – so Queen Camilla shows herself on her new official portrait for the 78th birthday. On July 17th and elected a very special place: the Ray Mill House, Camilla’s private refuge in Wiltshire.

The picture taken by Hoffotographer Chris Jackson “this month” radiates an unusual intimacy. It is not the magnificent halls of the Buckingham Palast or the representative rooms of the Clarence House form the backdrop, but the enchanted garden of their country seat – a place that belongs to Camilla’s heart like no other.

Ray Mill House is more than just a place of residence for the queen. The estate with swimming pool and stables, located in the middle of twelve hectares of orchards and gardens, acquired her in 1996 after her divorce from her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles (85). Even when she moved to Clarence House with the then Prince Charles (76) in 2003, she kept this special place.

The strategic location of the house speaks for itself: only 15 minutes by car from HighGrove House, King Charles’ private country seat, Camilla offers the perfect opportunity for weekend trips. “The queen withdraws almost every weekend to relax peacefully” ,.

The new portrait was created at a special time. Queen Camilla accompanied her today’s husband through every phase of his reign – and especially through the challenge of his cancer diagnosis, which the palace announced in February 2024. “It is his strength and his hold, just like Prince Philip it was for the late Queen Elizabeth,” the magazine quotes a palace insider.

The royal source added: “It will be great. It will upset him, it will encourage him. It is amazing. It supports him to do the work he has to do.” These words are also reflected in Camilla’s tireless commitment, which did not decrease even on the eve of her birthday.

While others would have been retiring for a long time, Queen Camilla completed a full work program in Devon on July 16. She visited the Children’s Hospice South West, whose patron she is, and received the historical title “Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom” from the Royal Navy – recognition of her many years of support for the armed forces.

“I’m incredibly proud of her,” her son Tom Parker Bowles (50) commented on the US magazine. “She is at an age when most people think about quitting, but she never complains; she just continues.”