The Duchess

Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown

De: Penny Junor

Narrado por: Jenny Funnell

In the first in-depth biography of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall - the infamous other woman who made the marriage of Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana "a bit crowded" - esteemed royal biographer Penny Junor tells the unlikely and extraordinary story of the woman reviled as a pariah who, thanks to numerous twists of fate, became the popular princess consort.

Few know the Windsor family as well as veteran royal biographer and journalist Penny Junor. In The Duchess, she casts her insightful, sensitive eye on the intriguing, once widely despised, and little-known Camilla Parker Bowles, revealing in full, for the first time, the remarkable rise of a woman who was the most notorious mistress in the world.

As Camilla's marriage to Charles approached in 2005, the British public were upset at the prospect that this woman, universally reviled for wrecking the royal marriage, would one day become queen. Sensitive to public opinion, the palace announced that this would never happen; when Charles eventually acceded to the throne, Camilla would be known as the princess consort. Yet a decade later British public sentiment had changed, with a majority believing that Camilla should become queen.

Junor argues that although Camilla played a central role in the darkest days of the modern monarchy - Charles and Diana's acrimonious and scandalous split - she also played a central role in restoring the royal family's reputation, especially that of Prince Charles. A woman with no ambition to be a princess, a duchess, or a queen, Camilla simply wanted to be with, and support, the man who has always been the love of her life. Junor contends that their marriage has reinvigorated Charles, allowing him to finally become comfortable as the heir to the British throne.

©2017 Penny Junor (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

A Lot of Royal Filler

This is not a typical biography. There are a number of chapters that barely mention Camilla, and address the whole well told Charles and Diana saga. The author is obviously pro Charles and writes gushingly about Camilla. Nothing really wrong with that but there’s a lot of it here. The post-marriage to Charles chapters provide more detail than we need about her charities. But I did appreciate the basic family history and some of the behind the scenes palace intrigue. Of all the royals, I’ve always wanted to meet Camilla. We share the same birthday, and I’ve been dealing with osteoporosis for over 15 years- she’d be a great one to chat with on that. And through this book I learned that Camilla loves the book “Rebecca.” That’s one of my favorites, too. So, this book was not what I expected but did provide enjoyable info.

Refreshing

A very refreshing and believable work on the modern royal family. I enjoyed the writing as well as the narration. You won't be disappointed.

Ok But

Too much full repetition of narrative from the public domain we've already heard many many times. Feels like they're there to take up space. But Camilla's story is interesting.

Penny Junior Hits A Home Run

I loved this audiobook! Penny gives a lot of juicy details. I personally do think Diana had BPD. Poor Charles! I’m so glad Charles and Camilla make each other happy. Thank you again Penny.

Excellent audible book!

Penny Junor captured the whole essence of Camila. I understand her now or feel as tho I do. Want to meet her now.
Thank you, Lisa

Interesting

This was a very interesting story, a totally different story then the one we've been told before.

Fascinating Story-Awful Audiobook Production

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.

Disappointing

Too many disconnecting details. I got lost in following the sentence including off topic details before the end of sentence. It could have included more details about Camilla and less about unrelated details of Diana and Charles. I did not finish the book. I retain very little of what I read due to the rabbit trails.

My Musings

I enjoyed the insights into Queen Consort Camilla. However, the author sometimes went in a round about way tying in why the people who were helped or were influencers in her life, so it made it a bit tedious at times to read. The narrator helped keep me engaged. Happy reading and listening!

A true story about Camila

Excellent. We have always only heard Diana’s side. This was refreshing and helped put the pieces together.