Queen Consort: The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller: the Biography of Queen Consort Camilla

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and, I believe, it is a book which needed to be written.Yes, we all adored the public persona of Diana, and yes I too cried buckets at her tragically untimely death, but each and every one of us has to live through the personal cycle of life, love, loss, pain and survival - and in all our lives we somehow pick ourselves up and get through whatever life throws at us.It's hard enough doing it privately, so imagine how much harder it must be doing all of it in the full glare of the public and with a million cameras thrust in your face.It's now time to move on! We can't expect Charles to live frozen in time, under a glass dome, in 1997. He deserves his private life to be as rewarding as his successful public life. He deserves to feel loved..We should be glad that Charles and Camilla are finally together and happy! And when you read this fascinating book it shows just how lucky the Royal Family are to now have Camilla amongst them.And I really MEAN lucky! Camilla was a hands on mum doing all the normal day to day things in life for over 50 years before joining The Firm - none of the Royals can bring to the table her normal life experiences - and this is invaluable in bringing some normalcy to Charles's life which he wasn't allowed to do simply because by accident of birth he was born Royal.Camilla is doing some wonderful things, she is proud of her husband for having the imagination to start the Prince's Trust at such a young age and the path she has decided to walk down are on hugely pertinent subjects which other Royals have walked past, so huge congratulations to her for choosing to let her new position make a difference simply by bringing them all together.During the official service of Thanksgiving earlier this year for the Sapphire Anniversary of our beloved Queen, the Rev Richard Charteris said from the "No one knew what life lay ahead for Elizabeth as a yet unborn baby in her mother's womb - only God knew, only God knew the life he had mapped out for her" - her mother was the Duchess of York at the time of Elizabeth's birth, she wasn't born to be Queen - only God knew. None of US know what life has in store for US, we simply have to live our lives to find out - and so have Charles and Camilla!So, I for one say to all her detractors "Move on! Let her live her life to the full. We can't live continuously looking back at what might have been, we all only have the future to look forward to, so be generous to Charles and Camilla and allow them both to carry on their good works and be happy".And to those who didn't like the book I say Why on earth buy a biography on someone you don't like?????????

Bought as a gift. My friend loved it. Arrived quickly and was new so all good

I have always had sympathy for Camilla, involved in a situation so much bigger than most of us will ever experience. This book presents us with a thoroughly likeable, capable, intelligent woman who just happened to move in a particular sphere of society and got caught up in history.

Not sure if Penny Junor was paid to write this but she’s obviously a big fan of the Duchess and probably motivated by a desire to correct the demonisation of the “third person“ in the Wales’ marriage.I found the first half interesting in putting the story in context and hearing the other side but the second half consisted of endless chapters about the Duchess’ charitable activities. I’m sure there is plenty to admire here but endless repetition of how wonderful she is in every respect started to be wearying.She clearly isn’t a big fan of the Prince of Wales who comes across as spoilt, self pitying and with a very bad temper.Glad I only paid pennies for it.

I'd never read anything about Camilla and Charles, except what was published in media, and I believed it all. This book gave me such an insight into who and what Camilla really is, her dignity, her empathy, her compassion and, most of all, her love for the King. Everyone needs that one person who 'gets them' and he has this in Camilla. It can't have been easy for her, but she's maintained her dignity throughout and sounds like such a genuinely lovely person who is comfortable with herself and much loved by many. I am now a big fan.

This book is very informative if you stay with it but it can be quite hard going.

I liked this book very much. It is well written and researched sympathetic to the characters in it. While there is criticism of both Charles . And Diana it is a warm and entertaining story of star crossed love that came good in the end. We are none of us saints and saddling people with that title takes away some of their character because it is our flaws that make us human and likeable. Camilla comes out of the book well in spite of her adultery or maybe because of it. Yes she made mistakes but she is human. In my opinion she is doing a great job and Charles seems so much happier. Tragically Diana died very young and should have been queen had she lived and still decided to be married to the POW. However Camilla is now the duchess of Cornwall and her correct title on Charles accession should be queen as is the duchess of Cambridge title going to be when William accedes. Well written enjoyable book thank you to the author and I hope she goes on to write more.

This book guided me to the true character of our Queen. Up until I read it I only knew the opinion of the press and members of the public. The real Camilla described by one who really knows her has made me warm towards her and accept her as our Queen

tells the truthful and interesting story about Camilla rather than what was, and is, put out by the media.

This was a fascinating and interesting portrait of an amazing woman. Reviled by many, the ugly truth of Prince Charles' first marriage is briefly touched upon here. It left him hurt and wounded in more ways than one. It is interesting to note that close friends encouraged the two to reconnect. The Duchess of Cornwall is a warm, loving, down to earth lady who lived a life filled with friends and family. Despite her determination to woo and win the young Andrew Parker Bowles, (which she did), Charles was the love of her life and he was heartbroken when she married. Andrew cheated on her repeatedly. I believe you should read her story to find out what happened after Charles and Diana were forced toghether. The public was not aware of how bad things had gotten until later. It was also sad to learn how his parents declined to support him. Camilla is really his best friend and supporter. I was also interested in learning about how she supports her charities, putting the focus on the causes and bringing many disparate agencies together for the common good. She is not interested in the spotlight and is happy to be herself. It is a fair and balanced portrait and I had a hard time putting it down. The sections on the charities she supports is an eye opener statistic wise, the scope of the problems larger than known. I was shocked to find out how many people in British jails are illiterate.Please note: I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audio book. The audio version has a number of issues. Two chapters #26 Rebecca and #41 The Rubbish Pickers Wife are not in the Kindle version of the book. After Chapter 26, the chapters do not correspond to the Kindle version. Sections of text are left out and the narrator frequently adds or changes words. Many sentences are clipped short. This should be unheard of coming from a major publishing house.

I would question a lot that was written about Camilla. The book tries to make her a real saint and Diana was made to look bad.However I feel if she had been out of the picture Diana & Charles' marriage might have stood a chance. Both Charles and Camilla have a lot to answer for one day and he should Never be king let alone Camilla Queenshe is no Saint

Really an interesting boom about the real profile of Camilla. I did not have a very good image about her and meanwhile I am reading the book, my impression is changing.

A revelation..... Camilla has had bad press but maybe this has been corrected now. A worthwhile, and well written book.