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King Charles III

Happy birthday Camilla! 10 facts about the Duchess of Cornwall

Today is the 68th birthday of The Duchess of Cornwall. To celebrate the occasion, Royal Central has compiled a list of 10 facts about The Duchess.

The Duchess of Cornwall pictured here in 2011 at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

The Duchess of Cornwall pictured here in 2011 at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

1. The Duchess of Cornwall is the daughter of Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand and the Hon Rosalind Maud Shand. She was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on 17th July 1947 at King’s College Hospital in London and is the eldest of three children.

2. Camilla attended Dumbrells School, a co-ed school in Sussex. She then went on to Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington. She also attended Mon Fertile finishing school in Switzerland and studied at the Institut Britannique in Paris.

3. On 9th April 2012, The Queen appointed The Duchess of Cornwall to be a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).

4. Camilla has a keen interest in animals and is passionate about animal welfare. Her love of animals is reflected in many of her Patronages and charitable visits.

5. The Duchess is President of the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS). Camilla has worked for many years to promote understanding and raise awareness of osteoporosis. Her mother was 72 when she died in 1994 as a result of osteoporosis. Camilla’s grandmother had died from the same condition eight years earlier.

6. A keen reader and tireless advocate for literacy, The Duchess is Patron of the National Literacy Trust, BookTrust and First Story, all of which help to promote literacy in young people. Camilla has two children and five grandchildren.

7. The Coat of Arms conferred to Her Royal Highness is known as an impaled Coat of Arms, and it brings together The Prince of Wales’s Coat of Arms with that of The Duchess’s father, the late Major Bruce Shand.

8. Camilla’s full title is Her Royal Highness The Princess Charles, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, Princess of Scotland.

9. Camilla is a huge fan of the Danish TV crime series The Killing, so much so she visited the set during their 2012 eight-day tour of Scandinavia

10. Camilla adopted Beth, a Jack Russell in 2011 and Bluebell, also a Jack Russell a year later from South London’s famous Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where she is a frequent visitor.

Photo Credit: Gareth Williams via Flickr

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