Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Celebrates Her 75th Birthday With a Wholesome English Portrait and a Cup of Tea

LONDON – It’s a happy birthday to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

The future queen consort turned 75 on Sunday and to mark the occasion Clarence House released a new official birthday portrait.

In the photo, Camilla is wearing a blue floral Sophie Dundas summer dress while posing in her garden with a cup of tea and a bowl of peaches on the table.

She also wore the independent British brand on the cover of Country Life magazine, which she guest-edited with the Duchess of Cambridge taking her portrait for the cover. 

Inside the issue, her food writer son Tom Parker Bowles writes about the fruit, mentioning that “my mother is a keen grower of white peaches (the subject of this month’s column was very much her idea).”

Since her marriage to Prince Charles in 2005, the duchess has been gradually on a path to ameliorate her public image.

In British Vogue’s July issue, she revealed that she “was scrutinized for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it. Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticized.”

However, Camilla has come out stronger on the other end. She’s won over the royal family, especially Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.

A new side of the duchess has come out to the public — one that’s very much needed at a time when the longevity of the monarchy is being questioned; her husband is preparing  to fill the shoes of his mother, and there is the need to counteract “The Crown’s” portrayal of her in the hit Netflix series.

She has proven that she’s nothing like Diana, Princess of Wales nor is she competing with the beloved royal who she was once in a love triangle with. Camilla’s strategy, like Kate Middleton’s, is to serve and stay on brand for the crown.