LONDON (Reuters) – Camilla, wife of the Britain’s new King Charles and now queen consort, said the smile of the late Queen Elizabeth was “unforgettable” in a message of tribute to the late monarch released on Sunday.
“She’s been part of our lives for ever. I’m 75 now and I can’t remember anyone except the Queen being there,” Camilla said of Elizabeth’s death on Sept. 8 aged 96.
“It must have been so difficult for her being a solitary woman. There weren’t women prime ministers or presidents. She was the only one so I think she carved her own role,” she added in the tribute which was recorded as part of a package in the last three months.
Charles has delivered a number of personal messages about his late mother, expressing how he would miss his “darling mama”.
“She’s got those wonderful blue eyes, that when she smiles they light up her whole face. I will always remember her smile. That smile is unforgettable,” Camilla said in the message.
Camilla, Charles’s second wife, has grown in popularity since she wed the new king back in 2005, having previously being lambasted and blamed by the press and many Britons for causing the break-up of his first marriage to the late Princess Diana.
Her rehabilitation was complete when in February Queen Elizabeth marked 70 years on the throne by giving her blessing to Camilla taking the title queen consort, saying it was her “sincere wish” that she did so.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Kate Holton and Alison Williams)
