Easter surely cannot come soon enough for Britain's Queen Camilla as she shoulders the burden of royal public duties without her convalescing husband, King Charles III.
But as she leads from the front, a visit to the Cheltenham Festival this week showed how important the queen's long-standing friends are to her efforts.
Lady Sarah Keswick, who was pictured with the then Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles as long ago as 1979, was at the premier horse racing event as a Queen Companion on Wednesday.
Charles was diagnosed with cancer early this year and is absent until at least Easter.
Long before his coronation, and conscious of the cost to the taxpayer, the king had argued for a slimmed-down monarchy.
Recent appearances by the royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace have highlighted the key team of the king and queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne and her husband and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Unseen in the background is the role of a tight-knit group of largely women friends the queen can depend on.
In November 2022, Camilla announced her new “Queen's Companions” as the position of lady-in-waiting was abolished.
Indicating a break from tradition, she decided to enlist six confidantes as her companions, each receiving a nominal fee to cover their expenses in much the same way as ladies-in-waiting.
Princess Anne said presciently last year the royals were dangerously close to having too few members for the range of public duties.
“I think the ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment. I doesn’t sound like a good idea where I am standing.”
Never does that seem truer than now.
People forget that she has not been brought up to do this role. The King and Prince William know their destiny but she’s a relative newcomer
Ailsa Anderson,
former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II
After the death of Princess Diana in 1997, it would have seemed almost impossible to imagine Prince Charles’s companion, the then Camilla Parker-Bowles, crowned as queen.
Nor, according to friends, did she expect or want the title. In spite of this, it transpired Queen Elizabeth II gave her approval to it before her death. The endorsement was widely seen as a formal sign that the royal family had finally accepted Camilla as a respected senior member.
Shortly after it was announced that King Charles was receiving treatment for an enlarged prostate this year, graver news emerged on February 5 that he was also to be treated for a form of cancer.
Although Queen Elizabeth’s father had died prematurely from lung cancer in 1952, her mother and the late monarch herself were blessed with robust health and longevity.
It, therefore, came as a shock to a nation unused to royal frailty, that the recently crowned king and, simultaneously, his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, were suffering from serious health issues.
The King is receiving regular treatment that precludes public appearances for the foreseeable future, and the Princess of Wales is not expected to resume public duties until later in the year.
When Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that Camilla would be styled as Queen Consort. "Consort" has been dropped since the coronation so she is now known simply as Queen Camilla.
Given the precipitate departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to California, the recent health issues of senior royal family members, the slimmed-down monarchy and episodes like the Prince of Wales recently cancelling his appearance at the memorial service for his godfather the late former king of Greece for “personal reasons”, it has fallen to 76-year-old queen to represent the family as most senior royal.
When the queen made her first public outing in the week the monarch's cancer diagnosis was made public, she chose two of these ladies to accompany her to Salisbury Cathedral: Sarah Troughton, Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, and the Marchioness of Lansdowne, Fiona Petty-Fitzmaurice, who also served as one of her Ladies in Attendance alongside the queen’s younger sister, 75-year-old Annabel Elliot, at the coronation. While her sister is not one of the Queen’s Companions, the pair are very close.
Annabel supported her sister throughout the difficulties of her relationship with Prince Charles, driving Camilla away and out of public view when then prime minister John Major announced in the Commons the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1992.
Annabel's 40th birthday party was where Princess Diana confronted Camilla over her relationship with Charles and it was her 50th birthday celebrations at the Ritz in London where Camilla came out as Charles' partner, using the occasion to pose for their first public pictures together on the hotel steps.
Along, naturally, with that of her children, Tom and Laura, the queen also has the support of her former husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles. Although they divorced in 1995 after 22 years of marriage they have an enduring friendship.
He attended the coronation to see his ex-wife being crowned alongside King Charles and was in the royal box at the racing with his ex-wife this week.
They are said to lunch together frequently, a sign of their ongoing warm relationship.
If the queen has been shocked and upset by her husband’s diagnosis, she has not let it show as she goes about the business of keeping the royal show on the road. If she has a natural hesitancy sometimes at public events, she also has great warmth and humour.
Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, has said not enough credit is given to Camilla.
“People forget that she has not been brought up to do this role. The king and Prince William know their destiny but she’s a relative newcomer to the dynasty. She’s a grandmother but she’s a wife as well – she’s got to support her husband.
“Anyone who knows someone who has had cancer knows how hard it is for the spouse.”
After leading the royal family with 13 public engagements since the king’s diagnosis, it was reported that the queen took a short break recently before she returned to represent King Charles at the Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey. In a more relaxed setting – she is an ardent horsewoman – she was seen enjoying the Cheltenham Races this week.
It’s thought Queen Camilla has taken heart from the public’s reaction to her leading the royal family the past few weeks, a reaction she could never have imagined when she was being reviled by the same British public for being instrumental in bringing about the end of the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Although she would never have expected to find herself in the position of leading the royal family, the queen, never a bearer of grudges, seems absolutely prepared to do whatever needs to be done for the institution.
King Charles III's first year – in pictures
MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
7.40pm Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
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8.50pm The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm Majestic Thunder
7.05pm Commanding
7.40pm Mark Of Approval
8.15pm Mulfit
8.50pm Gronkowski
9.25pm Walking Thunder
10pm Midnight Sands
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PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Pathaan
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
