At the time the public learned of then-prince Charles’ affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, she became the most hated person in Britain. At one point, she was even afraid to go out in public.
However, as time passed by, the people of Britain learned to love Camilla, and today, she’s a very important part of the family. What’s most, she’s loved by many.
Charles and Camilla were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the Chilean ambassador, at a polo match. They started dating in 1972, but the relationship didn’t last long as Charles left to serve in the Royal Navy. When his duties there came to an end and he returned home, Camilla was already engaged to her now-ex husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
However, they never stopped being close. Even when Charles married Diana, he and Camilla stayed in touch.
Royal author Penny Junior claimed that Charles was aware he wasn’t in love with his future wife Diana, but it was already too late for him to call off the wedding.
“Charles was not convinced he was doing the right thing in marrying Diana but there was no way out and, bolstered by the hope that things would be different once they were married, he put a brave face on it,” she wrote, as reported by the Mirror.
What’s most, Camilla and Diana knew each other and got along, but then things changed.
“I met [Camilla] very early on. I was introduced to the circle, but I was a thrеаt, I was a very young girl, but I was a thrеаt,” Diana explained in the book Diana: In Her Own Words.
The love affair between Charles and Camilla started in 1986, according to Prince Charles’ authorized biography, as quoted by Town & Country. At the time, Charles was still married to Princess Diana and she eventually became aware that her husband was cheating on her.
Diana even confronted Camilla once, but nothing changed.
Speaking of the troubles in her marriage and the reasons for its failure, Diana told Martin Bashir during a televised interview, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and their divorce was finalized four years later.
Just months after Charles and Diana formally separated, the press published a full transcript of a telephone call between the then-future King and Camilla.
The phone call revealed an intimate and sexual exchange between the couple, which became known as Tampongate.
Despite the mistreatment from the press, the bond between Camilla and Charles prevailed. On April 9, 2005, the couple exchanged vows in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.
Later, at the wedding reception, the late Queen Elizabeth offered a toast to the newlyweds. However, she had other plans in mind, as she briefly stepped into another room to catch a horse race.
“I have two important announcements to make. The first is that Hedgehunter has won the Grand National,” the queen said.
“They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles. They have come through, and I’m very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves,” Queen Elizabeth II continued as she made a comparison with her horses.
When she was married to her first husband, Camilla had a regular job. According to the Mirror, she worked as a secretary at several firms in London’s West End area and later as a receptionist at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in Mayfair. She studied at Dubrells School in Sussex and Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington before finishing school at Institut Britannique in Paris, where she studied English and French Literature.
In the book On The Fringe—A Life In Decorating, designer Imogen Taylor, who was a colleague at the interior design firm Colefax and Fowler, where the queen used to work, remembered a time when a young Camilla arrived late to work after a night of partying.
Taylor claimed Camilla was then yelled at and fired.
In 2016, she told the Sunday Times: “There were lots of debutantes working for us, even Camilla. She worked for us for a moment but got the sack.”
“He would shout and bellow so the whole building heard every word. The Duchess of Cornwall was one assistant who fell victim to one of tantrums. I think she came in late, having been to a dance,” Taylor recalled their boss’s temperament.
Today, Camilla is a vital part of the Firm.
Speaking of the current role Queen Camilla has taken upon herself, royal expert Angela Levin said Camilla is “holding the royal family up.”
“I mean, to wait till you’re 73 is a long time before you can take the crown. I think obviously, at his age, it’s very difficult, but he’s very determined, and he’s only really just started to be king,” Levin said while appearing on GB News. “Supporting him very much, absolutely by his side, is Queen Camilla, who is going to all the engagements that they would have gone to together on her own.”
“And so that way he will feel it’s still moving, it’s still running, and they can discuss it and talk about it. And I think that’s marvelous. I mean, she is holding the Royal Family up and being strong. If you imagine 30 years ago, people were saying the whole Royal Family would absolutely disintegrate, and she would be of no use.”
Although it is known that Camilla doesn’t want to be under the spotlight, she’s doing an excellent job while meeting with the public.
“To support her husband. She understands him very well because they’ve been together for over 50 years, before they even got married. it’s a long time and they make each other laugh,” Levin added.
Royal expert and former royal correspondent Charles Rae praised the queen for supporting King Charles and Kate Middleton in this troublesome time, calling her a “remarkable asset,” adding that Camilla is “one of the best things to happen to the Royal Family” in a “good number of years.”
“There’s no question about it, she stepped into the breach. She’s got everything on her shoulders with what’s going on, and she’s taking on even more work,” royal expert Charles Rae said.
“Everywhere she goes, she has got a cheery smile on and a happy face. She says the right things. She has proved to be a remarkable asset to the Royal Family, given the allegations that at one time she had bread rolls thrown at her in a supermarket car park.”
Rae concluded, “I remember her when she was the most hated woman in Britain. I’ve met her several times and she’s charming, she’s witty, she’s really nice to chat to, and certainly when she’s chatting to people, she has done her homework as to who she’s chatting to.”
Daily Mail’s royal correspondent, Rebecca English, told Town & Country Magazine there was a “very different situation” when Camilla joined the royal family and the present.
“They decided the way to do it wasn’t to ‘sell her’. They concluded that the best way to move things forward was to just let her be herself and let people see for themselves what she is actually really likе.”
We believe Camilla is doing an amazing job for the royal family during these tough times when both King Charles and Kate Middleton are battling cancer.
A boy mows lawns to earn money and help the school janitor pay off his mortgage and retire
A rowdy teenager caused trouble for the school janitor and felt guilty. He learned about the man’s life and decided to do something remarkable for him, and only then did he realize something essential.
“Jeez!” Holden spat when he saw the mess he made on the floor. He and his friend were only going to play a prank on another student and paint his locker. However, he dropped the paint can in the middle of the basketball court, which would certainly be noticeable.
“Come on, Holden! Let’s go! Let’s go!” his friend, Andrew, yelled, and they both dropped everything and ran away.
They weren’t bad kids, but they were undoubtedly rowdy and rebellious, skipping classes all the time and trying to prank others. However, they weren’t bullies and didn’t have any malicious intent. Holden just hated school and wanted anarchy like many teenagers did at that age.
“Wow. That’s terrible,” the teenager commented before widening his eyes. “Sorry. That was rude.”
Fortunately, no one discovered what they had done, but Holden passed by the basketball court later and saw the old school janitor cleaning things up and heard the screams of the principal, Mr. Figgins.
“We have the prep rally tomorrow, and scouts from all over the country are coming! This needs to come out immediately!” the principal yelled at the poor old man, who hung his head and tried to clean the mess. However, the paint was oil-based, and it was an arduous task.
“Yes, Mr. Figgins. I’ll make sure it’s ready for tomorrow,” the janitor said and kept scrubbing. The principal threw his arms around some more, yelled some demands, and walked off in a huff.
Holden felt terrible, watching the old man on his knees trying to fix his mistake, so he did something completely uncharacteristic. He walked into the court, grabbed a rag, kneeled, and started cleaning with the janitor.
The old man looked at him for a second. “I guess you did this, right?” he commented and kept scrubbing.
“Sir, please. I’m so sorry. It was a mistake. I didn’t know you would get in trouble for it,” Holden apologized sincerely and continued moving the rag up and down. “Please don’t tell the principal. My mom would kill me.”
The old man sighed and shrugged. “I won’t tell anyone, but you have to help me until this floor is back to normal,” he negotiated, and Holden nodded rapidly.
While they worked, they talked. The janitor’s name was Fred. At first, their conversation was about basketball and football, as the school has some of the best teams in the state. But then, Holden asked the old man why he was working at his age. Based on the wrinkles on his face and his frail arms, he had to be way over 60.
“Well, I need to pay a mortgage, kid,” Fred responded with pursed lips. “And I’m 76.”
“You haven’t paid your mortgage still. Wow. That means I can never dream of having a house of my own,” Holden commented.
“Well, things are hard now, kid. But actually, I never wanted to own a house. I rented most of my life. I bought that house for my daughter. She needed her own place, and I wanted to give her something,” Fred revealed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “I put a down payment for her and helped her with the mortgage for years. But then, she died in a car accident, and it was all on me.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Holden muttered, and they stayed quiet for a while. “Why don’t you sell the house now?”
“Where would I live, kid? With rent these days, I would be homeless. And I have to keep working to eat,” the janitor continued. He wasn’t bitter or sad. He was just realistic.
“But you might not ever retire!” the teenager added.
“That’s true. I just hope I can pay the mortgage before I die,” he continued.
“How much is it?” Holden asked boldly.
“Well, I believe it’s a little under $30,000.”
“Wow. That’s terrible,” the teenager commented before widening his eyes. “Sorry. That was rude.”
But Fred laughed. “Let’s just work, kid.”
They finally removed all traces of the paint, but they both went home late that night… and Holden couldn’t sleep. He wanted to do something nice for the old man who hadn’t gotten him in trouble.
A few days later, he confessed what he had done to his mother and told her everything; then, he asked her how they could raise money for the old janitor. Maybe, if they paid his mortgage, Fred could retire.
His mother said that he could mow lawns around the neighborhood. It was mowing season, and tons of people were looking for help. So, Holden did so and surprisingly got a ton of clients. He grabbed his dad’s lawnmower and worked hard.
But after a few days, he realized the task was almost impossible. He would have to work for years, just like Fred, to raise the money, so he talked to his neighbors whose kids also went to the school. He took a picture of Fred from the school’s website and posted it online, telling his story, and finally decided to open a crowdfunding link for the janitor.
To his shock, the money started coming in, and $30,000 were raised in just a week.
After that, Holden and his mother talked to the school principal about having a special ceremony to honor Fred and surprise him. The teenager also had to come clean to the principal about the paint on the basketball court. Finally, Mr. Figgins agreed.
The whole school heard the story, and they all gathered at the basketball court and cheered when Fred came in. The old janitor had no idea what was going on as he didn’t have social media. But Holden presented him with the money, and many in the crowd cried as the two of them hugged. Fred officially retired that week.
Holden later learned that Fred had a granddaughter, Erin, who was only a few years younger than him, and the janitor wanted to pay off the house so she could have it when he was gone. She and Holden became great friends as he started visiting the old man after school and helping out.
He stopped hanging out with Andrew and started taking his classes seriously. The entire experience taught him that you had to work hard for everything.
His rebellious ways wholly disappeared, and he actually graduated at the top of his class a few years later. The entire school staff was shocked and pleased by his 180º turn, as it was something teachers rarely ever saw. And it was all due to Fred and that afternoon spent cleaning some paint off the floor.
What can we learn from this story?
You must apologize and do your best to atone for your errors. Holden got the old janitor in trouble, but he readily apologized and tried to make things better.
It only takes one experience or person to change someone’s perspective on life. After meeting Fred, Holden changed for good, as he learned that life was hard and only those who worked hard and honestly could live happily.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
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