Queen Camilla Doesn’t Get Into King Charles’ ‘Space with His Grandchildren’: ‘She Knows the Boundaries’

Queen Camilla always supports King Charles without exaggeration.

Robert Hardman, author The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchytells PEOPLE that Queen Camilla “knows what kind of boundaries” King Charles holds.

“She wouldn’t want to enter the King’s space with his grandchildren,” she says. “She’s not going to push herself. She still really wants to support herself. She still has her own family. That’s very important to her and she appreciates how important it is to him.”

Hardman says King Charles, 75, is a “loving grandfather” to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five. In fact, he spends “much more time in Windsor,” the home base of the Prince and Princess of Wales, “than anyone expected.”

“He’s usually there a lot on Thursdays and Fridays. Obviously the Waleses are within easy reach of the castle,” says Hardman. “He never really had that close to the younger family. Now, there’s more overlap.”

The Royal Family at Trooping the Color 2023.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

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The bond between King Charles and Prince Louis was shown at the 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations, when Louis jumped onto his grandfather’s lap during the Platinum Jubilee. The King greeted Princess Charlotte with a warm hug at the coronation ceremony, as seen in a recent BBC documentary, and Prince George acted as the monarch’s page of honor during the coronation ceremony.

However, there are his other two grandchildren whom he rarely sees: Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2, who live in California with their parents, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

The Royal Family at Christmas 2022.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Meanwhile, Queen Camilla, 76, is also a grandmother of five to her two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes (née Parker Bowles). Tom shares daughter Lola Parker Bowles and son Freddy Parker Bowles with his ex-wife Sara Buys. Laura and her husband Harry Lopes share a daughter, Eliza Lopes, and twin sons, Gus and Louis Lopes.

Queen Camilla’s three grandsons took center stage when they served as her pages of honor at her coronation in May.

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Queen Camilla and her grandson Freddy Parker Bowles at the coronation in May 2023.

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Hardman says Queen Camilla “brings a kind of mischief” to the royal family.

“She knows how to laugh when there are bad headlines or a crisis or something like that. She’s just an optimistic person,” he says. “I could see her in a real crisis, I think she would be a great asset.”

Indeed, as Charles prepares for his upcoming surgery to treat an enlarged prostate, Camilla is by his side.

She shared the update on her husband during an official outing after the palace announced the king will have a “corrective procedure” next week for a benign condition.

“It’s fine, thank you very much. I’m looking forward to getting back to work,” the Queen told her well-meaning friend.

Comparing her to Queen Elizabeth’s husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, Hardman adds: “There in terms of someone who is absolutely central to the story, but who is completely comfortable being – not exactly second fiddle, but there are areas where she is definitely in charge, but there are other areas where she can help or take some of the burden.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla at the coronation in May 2023.

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Source: HIS Education