The Duchess audiobook

I enjoyed the early chapters of this book, which provide an excellent overview of Camilla's upbringing, worldview and the culture of her social background and times, which included limited education for women and close proximity to the royal family. The later chapters, from Camilla's marriage to Charles until the end of the book are also very interesting as they discuss the challenges of her transition to royal life at the age of 57 including 0vercoming her fear of flying to undertake Commonwealth tours as Duchess of Cornwall. Her charitable work also receives extensive analysis in the later chapters.The middle of the book, however, is dominated by the conflicts between Charles and Diana that are well known from other sources as well as conflicts amongst courtiers and relations between the royal family and the press. The author has a clear bias toward Charles in her analysis of his marriage to Diana and emphasizes her own proximity to royalty and these sections become repetitive. The book is at its best when the focus is on Camilla's life and work. The audiobook is well read and engaging.

I really enjoyed this book as it gave me insight into a woman I know very little about but who is extremely influential in the nation. For me the book fell into three parts; the early years of Camilla's life and her relationship with Prince Charles in those days, next the whole Diana and Prince Charles disastrous marriage and Camilla's role in its disintegration or not and finally the story now and the many charities that Camilla supports and how she supports them. I found that I got rather bogged down in all the names of Camilla's early life and couldn't totally keep track of who was who. That was also a bit of a problem in the final third of the book. The middle part of the book was fascinating and to actually read what you always suspected that Prince Charles' and Diana's marriage was made in hell and should have never have happened and that Diana had mental health issues was enlightening. I am not a Diana fan so I am not upset by what Penny Junor writes. However what was enjoyable and very informative was the work that both Camilla and Prince Charles do for the many charities they support. I don't think I realised quite how hard Prince Charles obviously works and I was impressed by the way Camilla uses her position to help charities that support all manner of less known and less popular causes. Her ability to draw together people of influence in a particular area and get them to communicate together is surely a great way of using her position. By the time I finished I felt I understood far better the whole Prince Charles, Diana, Camilla triangle and the work that they tirelessly undertake for their chosen charities.

This book completely changed my attitude toward Camilla Parker Bowles. The public does not know just how damaged Diana Spencer was. We eventually knew about her bulimia, and knew about her tantrums, eventually, but the press loved Diana and blamed it all on Charles. What we didn't know was that all that started even before they were married. It is to Charles's credit that he did not defend himself by telling the world what their marriage was really like, long before Camilla came back into the picture. He did it really because he loved his sons and wanted to protect them. Of course they knew some of what was wrong with Diana, but not the whole truth.This book goes into more detail about Charles's childhood, his personality, how miserable he was trying to make his marriage work, and was honest about the things he might have done better. Even so, there was no fixing what was really an unbalanced mental state.His relationship with Camilla has been healing and finally he has the joy that his life had been missing. I wish them well.

I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins. This is a biography of the Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who rose to notorious fame as the 'other woman' in the marriage of Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In this book, Junor paints a fuller picture of the woman behind the despised name. Although they have a rocky history and have faced international criticism, Junor argues that the couple is well matched and have a happy partnership that serves the royal family well.Camilla had a happy childhood and seems to have always been popular, especially with boys. Ironically enough, "Alice Keppel, Camilla's great-grandmother [...] had famously been a long-term mistress of King Edward VII, Charles's great-great-grandfather" (9). Prince Charles first met her and fell in love with her in 1971, but Camilla was already dating Andrew Parker Bowles. Despite Andrew's constant infidelity, she was set upon marrying him and finally did so. It seems that both Charles and Camilla's great downfall is that they married the wrong people and failed to exit their marriages before reconnecting. Camilla had two children with her husband and Charles, famously, went on to marry the beautiful and greatly beloved Diana. Junor argues that Charles remained faithful to Diana until her mental illness eventually led to the deterioration of their marriage, at which point he turned to Camilla. Although Junor does fully acknowledge the mistakes Charles made in his first marriage, she comes across as far too lenient in the portrayal of how their relationship progressed. She presents them as comforting each other in their time of need and being cruelly misrepresented in the press. Of course, it does in hindsight appear that Diana twisted the truth and manipulated the press to her advantage, but I don't think that Charles and Camilla were as innocent as portrayed in this book. Yet Camilla is far more than just a mistress and Junor works hard to shed light on her.As the royal family does not engage in interviews, this biography is still written at a remove, without quotes or true insight into Camilla or those closest to her. However, this book does more fully bring to light the close and loving marriage that she shares with Charles. Camilla seems to have truly wanted a simple life; "She wanted no more from life than to be happily married to an upper-class man and live a sociable life in the country with horses, dogs, children and someone to look after them all" (42). Yet in marrying Charles, Camilla has taken on a very different role, one she does well. In marrying Charles and becoming the Duchess of Cornwall, she has certainly proven herself worthy of the role and accepted by the royal family. In particular, the description of all her charity work was inspiring. Seen as a villain by the world for much of her life, it was interesting to learn more about the seemingly kind and thoughtful woman behind the tabloids.

We interrupt the reading of serious books for an interlude of celebrity gossip--well, not gossip exactly, as this is supposed to be factual. But given the circumstances of Camilla's life, there's bound to be plenty of salacious bits. I picked up the book to get some long-standing questions answered: 1) if Camilla and Prince Charles were so strongly attracted, why didn't they get married when they were both single? 2) Were Charles and Camilla lovers from the beginning of his marriage to Diana? 3) Was it true, as Diana claimed, that the Charles/Camilla affair was the primary reason that the Charles/Diana marriage was so unhappy? 4) Why did Charles reject Diana, gorgeous and skilled in public relations, for the not-very-remarkable Camilla? 5) What was Camilla's childhood like? 6) What are Charles and Camilla doing today? I mean, inquiring minds who are also occasional British royals-watchers (like me) want to know.All these questions and many more are answered in the book, although I will say that Junor seems somewhat prejudiced in favor of Charles, building on our sympathy for his dysfunctional upbringing in order to excuse some rather bad behavior. But it's not heavy-handed, and no one comes out innocent here. I was impressed by Camilla's current dedication to charity work, dealing primarily with women's issues.This is a well-paced, enjoyable read, and now we can speculate on the future: when Charles becomes king (he's nearly 70 now, still waiting for his Big Moment), will Camilla's title be Queen, or the lower-status Princess Consort? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen, as the time is drawing near: Queen Elizabeth is 92.

Some have mentioned a bias towards Charles in this book. I would suggest that he’s due one. I was a young adult when he and Diana married and it was quite obvious to my naive self that she had gone after the title. When he discovered she had lied about herself and her likes and dislikes she wasn’t old enough apparently to understand that might cause issues. He’s not a particularly likable person but she became an expert at media manipulation and the public bought it hook, line and sinker. Did she accomplish amazing things? Absolutely. Did they both have affairs? Absolutely. However, none of the parties involved are all good or all bad. Her children seem to like Camilla, which should be enough for anyone. As for bias in the book...I would suggest he’s owed a few after the hell he was put through - granted, he was old enough to know he shouldn’t have married her (I don’t need anyone telling me she went through hell too - much of hers was her own doing), but how many reading this book have been married more than once? Bet you’re glad you weren’t under this type of microscope.

I didn't really have much of an opinion of Camilla Parker Bowles before this novel, but I guess if I had to commit to a viewpoint it would have been largely negative. this book completely brought me around as it tells the inside story of CPB and the Prince of Wales, and is very sympathetic to her and their relationship. It's hard to imagine being inside their world, but as far as these things go she seems like a pretty good person in a rough situation who has made the best of it, and really a far better match for Charles than...well....you know. I sped read the last few chapter which are all about CPB's charity work and are rather dull, even if how much she does is quite impressive.

Interesting book that provides some insight into that most peculiar family, the Windsors, and the difficulty others face in dealing with them - even when loved by one of them. Such an odd, odd bunch, truly. Penny Junor writes well, but she moves from 'I'm telling the hard truth' mode to near-sycophancy in very short order. I guess it's also tricky to be a royal commentator and biographer, too. Not sorry I read it, though.

I agree with the other reviewers. We did not know anything about Diana except that she was a pretty, young face and seemed to be wronged by the rest of The Firm.It was interesting to read about Camilla, especially as she will be queen.

I’ve Nothing but Admiration for CamillaA good read, ponderous at times, but skip over those passages and continue to enjoy. If you like reading about individuals who come to terms with life and grow from the experience, read this. If you’re judgmental, don’t, but you will have missed a chance to learn to experience empathy.

Very interesting and well-written book