Camilla behind closed doors: Her worrying days with Charles after his cancer diagnosis and the eternal optimism that has made the King 'sweetly proud': REBECCA ENGLISH

She mightiness person hoped her day tomorrow would impact thing much taxing than putting her feet up pinch her husband.

Instead, Queen Camilla will observe turning 77 by popping connected her Bruce Oldfield gown and nan family’s iconic Diamond Diadem to travel King Charles to nan State Opening of Parliament.

‘It’s not nan tip-top measurement she would take to beryllium spending her birthday,’ 1 adjacent friend tells me, ‘but you won’t ever perceive a azygous connection of complaint. About anything, really. For personification who wasn’t calved into nan Royal Family, she’s sewage an extraordinarily beardown consciousness of work and nan temperament to cope.’

Indeed, that’s thing I’ve witnessed first-hand galore times complete nan years, peculiarly astatine nan extremity of a agelong time connected circuit – a smile, a cheekily raised eyebrow and a look that says: ‘Well, let’s get connected pinch nan show.’

It’s been an incredibly reliable twelvemonth for Her Majesty. After nan whirlwind of her husband’s accession and coronation past year, 2024 should person been a clip for Their Majesties to drawback their activity and get backmost into nan regular groove of royal life.

Instead, Camilla began nan caller twelvemonth facing her husband’s devastating cancer test and nan imaginable of losing nan emotion of her life.

Indeed, 1 root tells maine they had ne'er seen her truthful worried. Not because nan King’s prognosis was peculiarly bad, it should beryllium stressed, but because connected a quality level, crab is specified a genuinely terrifying imaginable for some patients and their partners.

‘When she visited His Majesty successful infirmary aft he first went successful for prostate surgery, she was rather relaxed. Concerned, of course, but it was a beautiful modular process and location was really rather spot of laughter astatine his bedside,’ 1 insider recalls.

Just 3 aliases 4 days later, however, nan mates were told that crab had, sadly, been found.

They spent nan play together astatine Sandringham, processing nan news privately, earlier Camilla insisted connected undertaking a long-planned engagement opening a Maggie’s crab attraction centre successful London while nan King embarked connected a debilitating people of treatment.

‘The nationalist had nary thought what she was going through. She was speaking to patients, survivors and moreover nan families of those who had mislaid their lives to this atrocious illness successful beforehand of nan cameras. And she couldn’t . . . she didn’t . . . moreover blink. That takes superior guts,’ a friend says.

Another reveals candidly: ‘In backstage group had ne'er seen her truthful worried. Forget who they are for a second. Look astatine it from a quality level. Her beloved hubby was facing a very superior condition. The conflict of his life. It was hugely tough.’

But aft a little wobble, she pulled herself together.

Always a prolific missive writer, she began finishing hers pinch nan sign-off: ‘Onwards and upwards!’ – a clear parameter of really she planned to tackle this caller situation head-on.

Widely known arsenic Charles’s gatekeeper, she besides became his fiercest protector.

‘His Majesty is ne'er 1 to beryllium still and do nothing. He ever wants to activity and moreover crab wasn’t going to extremity him. But it’s adjacent to opportunity that his woman hasn’t ever been of nan aforesaid opinion,’ says 1 personification who knows them some well.

‘There is really only erstwhile sound successful nan room that he listens to. And that’s not nan doctor’s. She is nan only personification who tin seduce him that he needs to gait himself successful bid to retrieve and she’s beautiful patient erstwhile she has to be. She’s decidedly put her ft down arsenic overmuch arsenic she could successful caller months.

‘They person ever been a squad but now you couldn’t get a cigaret insubstantial betwixt them.’

That’s not to opportunity that nan King and Queen don’t spend each different space. They perfectly do.

While Charles is contented to potter astir astatine Windsor aliases Highgrove astatine weekends, Camilla will still often bolt unsocial to Ray Mill, her backstage Wiltshire home, known arsenic her ‘decompression chamber’.

She tin thin to her beloved gardens, bent retired pinch pals and moreover locomotion nan dogs without anyone batting an eyelid.

It’s portion of a ring-fenced backstage world that fewer are permitted to enter, isolated from her closest friends and family.

She speaks to her children Tom and Laura astir days.

In fact, I understand she is planning, arsenic usual, to return them and her 5 grandchildren distant connected vacation to Europe for a week aliases truthful this summer, while her hubby remains astatine home.

Unconventionally, she still speaks respective times a week to their father, her erstwhile hubby Andrew Parker Bowles, who has remained an incredibly bully friend and sounding committee contempt their divorce.

Her sister Annabel Elliot is, however, undoubtedly her closest confidant.

The brace are successful interaction aggregate times a time and Mrs Elliot is simply a predominant look astatine palace functions – and accompanied her to Wimbledon this week – though she chose not to go 1 of her charismatic ‘Queen’s Companions’.

Those who person been appointed arsenic 1 of nan caller supercharged ladies-in-waiting are, notably, her nearest and dearest pals.

They aren’t conscionable location to clasp her container aliases transportation her flowers, but to supply affectional support and, well, their institution because she loves it.

It’s a motion of their genuine closeness that they rustle kisses to her, alternatively than curtsey.

Former caregiver and Conservative adjacent Baroness Chisholm, for example, was Camilla’s neighbour for years.

‘She was equine riding pinch Her Majesty done those years of situation erstwhile she was not truthful respected arsenic she is today,’ notes an insider.

While she hasn’t hunted successful a number of decades, nan Queen is still very overmuch an outdoorsy benignant who loves thing much than stepping successful nan Highlands.

And she is also, surprisingly, a keen ‘wild swimmer’, heading disconnected for a dip successful nan oversea whenever she gets nan chance – and immoderate nan conditions.

Not truthful agelong ago, I americium told, Her Majesty encountered a ‘smack’ of jellyfish (as nan corporate noun is known) disconnected nan seashore of Cornwall. After hardly a moment’s hesitation, she decided that moreover they weren’t going to put her off.

When you person faced nan carnivore pit of nationalist opinion, facing down a fewer jellyfish successful your swimming cossie astir apt feels alternatively tame by comparison.

Such downtime is important pinch a engaged nationalist schedule to contend with. On Monday, she and nan King flew to Jersey and Guernsey for a two-day charismatic visit, pinch 9 engagements packed in.

Buckingham Palace are already readying a engaged autumn schedule, pinch a authorities sojourn to Australia and Samoa successful October that will impact a information travel of much than 30,000 miles successful astir 10 days.

Pretty gruelling for personification who admits she still hates flying.

Camilla is beautiful ‘no-fuss’ – for a royal, anyhow – and has a smaller squad down nan scenes than galore would expect.

Aside from agency staff, successful position of ‘lotions and potions’ there’s her facialist Deborah – and for large occasions she enjoys a manicure, but does her ain amazingly bully make-up herself.

She uses 1 of 2 hairdressers for charismatic events, Hugh Green and Geraldine Mancini, nan second usually accompanying her connected overseas tours.

And she still heads down personally to nan salon of starring Mayfair colourist Jo Hansford for regular highlights and a gossip, enjoying nan acquisition of nipping successful for her assignment for illustration immoderate different client.

Camilla relies connected her semipermanent stylist, Jacqui Meakin, and a dresser, for thief pinch her wardrobe, favouring tried and trusted labels specified arsenic Anna Valentine and Fiona Clare, pinch nan overseas evening gown by Bruce Oldfield.

But fixed her position successful nationalist life and connected nan world stage, arsenic nan woman of nan caput of state, it’s extraordinarily low-key.

Camilla’s besides grown successful assurance pinch her nationalist work, pushing boundaries connected reliable issues specified arsenic home violence, undertaking visits to refuges some publically and privately.

Little quality touches – specified arsenic inviting inspirational kid fundraiser Tony Hudgell to beverage erstwhile he missed a Buckingham Palace plot statement earlier this period – are very overmuch her idea.

Of people location are still nan naysayers, peculiarly connected societal media, fuelled successful portion by programmes specified arsenic The Crown that incessantly re-tell nan stories of old. But by now that’s h2o disconnected a duck’s back.

‘Yes, there’s a caucus of group connected societal media who usage nasty position and reference difficult times past, but honestly her cognition to that is they are nan unshiftables,’ a root tells me.

‘Nobody, not slightest of each Her Majesty, worries astir what they are saying.

‘She has ne'er gone done life looking backwards, she is ever looking ahead.’

It is simply a sensible cognition successful nan strategy of things – and an optimism nan occasionally still Eeyore-ish King adores.

I americium told he is ‘immensely grateful’ for nan nationalist support that has been shown to his woman while he has been undergoing treatment, and sweetly proud of nan measurement she has stepped up successful his place.

It’s improbable he’ll make excessively overmuch of a fuss of her connected Wednesday fixed his law duties.

But there’s ever their 20th wedding day to look forwards to adjacent April – and possibly a celebratory dip successful nan ocean, together, erstwhile they negociate to snatch a small clip off.