Duchess Camilla makes her Vogue debut opening up about aging and royal life

Camilla loves Wordle, calls herself an ‘old bat’, and opens up on a lifetime of scrutiny to British Vogue

Duchess Camilla loves Wordle, and shares more insights with her Vogue debut
(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has opened up to British Vogue in a special interview ahead of her 75th birthday. Speaking to the glossy magazine, Camilla shared her love of Wordle, how she’s dealt with media scrutiny and how she feels about getting older.


“Sorry you’ve got to photograph an old bat this morning”, Duchess Camilla is quoted as saying in her interview with British Vogue, proving she has a self-deprecating sense of humor.

However, proving that she’s far from the “old bat” she labelled herself, Camilla is refreshingly frank throughout her interview, opening up about her strained relationship with the press and public over the years, and the many modern joys she experiences with her grandchildren.

Discussing dealing with the pressures of press scrutiny, Camilla revealed that she had to learn to “rise above” criticism in the media.

“It’s not easy,” she said. “I was scrutinised for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it. Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticized and ... but I think in the end, I sort of rise above it and get on with it.”

Camilla has certainly got on with it, and she was recently rewarded for her tireless commitment to her duties and was awarded the Order of the Garter

Prince Charles and Camilla at the Order of the Garter ceremony

(Image credit: Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Camilla also opened up about her upcoming 75th birthday, sharing a poignant moment.

She said, “You know, my mother died when she was 72, so I’ve out-lived my mother, which is quite strange.”

Despite coming up to a big birthday, Camilla is as active and engaged with the world around her as ever, discussing her online book club, The Duchess of Cornwall’s Reading Room, which has amassed over 140,000 followers on Instagram since being started during the pandemic.

She also opened up on how she keeps up with the latest trends thanks to her close relationship with her grandchildren.

She revealed, “I do Wordle every day with my granddaughter. She’ll text me to say, ‘I’ve done it in three’, and I say, ‘Sorry, I’ve done it in two today.’ It’s very satisfactory when it tells you how brilliant you are.”

Speaking about her grandchildren, she added, “The girls are beginning to get into clothes and make-up and, you know, it’s rather frightening when you see them, coming out with pierced ears and a lot of new make-up and funny-coloured hair and stuff.”

Camilla herself has famously unpierced ears – something which she has no plans to change. When discussing not having pierced ears, she told the magazine “And they are not going to be!”

“No, I’m not going to give it to myself for a 75th birthday present. [The grandchildren] will try to persuade me, but nothing’s going to pierce my ears.”

Jack Slater
Freelance writer

Jack Slater is not the Last Action Hero, but that's what comes up first when you Google him. Preferring a much more sedentary life, Jack gets his thrills by covering news, entertainment, celebrity, film and culture for woman&home, and other digital publications.

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