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Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall has remained a divisive figure for the British public despite the lengthy PR campaign Prince Charles launched in the 1990s to present her as a palatable future Queen. The debate over her suitability to serve by his side when he succeeds the Queen was reignited after Her Majesty signalled in February she would be happy for her daughter-in-law to take on the title of Queen Consort. Royal commentator Angela Levin outlined the positive influence the Duchess has had and will have but her praise sparked a furious reaction from Jeremy Vine on 5 caller David.
The unimpressed caller dismissed as “rubbish” Ms Levin’s claims about the impact the Duchess of Cornwall will have on the future of the Royal Family.
Ms Levin said: “Camilla is absolutely extraordinary. I spent a lot of time with her and her sense of duty, and what she does for the community, is enormous.
“But she’s a slightly behind the curtains woman.
“What she’s done for women, for example, domestic violence is something she’s taken into her hands and she’s made that extremely important and saved many people’s lives.”
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But David rejected the praise lavished upon the Duchess of Cornwall, noting having Camilla be Queen Consort alongside Charles when he is king would go against the Queen’s previous position.
He said: “Rubbish. In the mid-50s, the Queen stopped Princess Margaret from marrying Peter Townsend because he was divorced.
“She didn’t want the monarchy tainted by divorce and now she’s along with two divorcees, Charles and Camilla, and two people who’ve been committing adultery most of the time in their married lives.
“And also, when Charles is king, if he makes it, he’s chair of the Church of England.”
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Whilst the perception of the Duchess of Cornwall has improved since her marriage to Prince Charles in 2005, Camilla had to embark on a persistent PR battle to win over the support of the British public.
The Duchess was reviled because of her perceived role in the breakdown of the marriage between the Prince and Princess of Wales in the 1990s, with the late Princess Diana publicly demanding “there were three of us in this marriage.”
But Daily Express columnist Carole Malone noted the adoption of a clever tactic ensured Camilla’s image turned more positive before marriage to Prince Charles was tabled.
Ms Malone said: “When I was reporting on the royals, Camilla was literally the most hated woman in Britain.
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“She really was, she was the devil incarnate never mind a national treasure. She was hated, she was seen as a homewrecker and even when Diana died, she kind of got blamed for that. People were thinking that if it hadn’t been for her, Diana wouldn’t have been in that car, she wouldn’t have been with Dodi al-Fayed.
“She had to bear a lot of you know what before. But I think the Palace’s PR machine has been very clever with Camilla.”
The broadcaster continued: “What they did is the first few years she was rarely seen at official events.
“Her coming out, if you like, was in 1999 at the Ritz where the two of them were together at Camilla’s sister’s birthday party.
“This was a big thing and people would’ve forgotten it but it was a big thing for them to be together.
“Over the years, the Palace has just gone slowly, slowly, slowly. They didn’t shove her down our throats.
“Back in 1999, something like 5 percent of people thought she could be Queen. In 2012, that went up to 53 percent and now, if you did a poll now, I think the majority would say it’s fine. I think she’s turned her position now.”
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