It was the honeymoon photos of the new Princess of Wales that convinced me to join Camp Diana.
I always disliked the Royal Family, with their hunting, shooting and fishing spirit. Bearskin hats were used for ceremonial duties. His love for horse racing and polo. Fly fishing!
But the sight of Diana at Balmoral, clearly mired in rough, disheveled tweed, trying to mask her boredom, had the animal lovers among us cheering her to the rafters.
We quickly fell in love with her refusal not only to kill animals for pleasure, but also to refuse to be rigid and formal, and to champion unpopular causes such as campaigning for victims of AIDS, eating disorders and poor mental health.
The sight of Diana at Balmoral, clearly itchy in rough, disheveled tweed, trying to mask her boredom, had the animal lovers among us cheering her to the rafters.
Princess Diana announces in Panorama that ‘there were three of us in this marriage’
Welsh guards next to the gun carriage carrying the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales
Camilla in 1999 drinking sherry and hanging out with Beaufort Hunt in Didmarton
Charles and Camilla’s 2005 wedding still left Liz Jones unconvinced
Camilla was, of course, the villain of the piece. When the recorded conversations between her and Charles were released (I used to sit in my office, dialing The Sun’s phone line to pay to listen to them, mouth open), not to mention the moment when Diana, during her BBC interview with Martin Bashir, revealed ‘There were three of us in this marriage’, I and any woman who has ever been cheated on, lied to and humiliated by a man will always hold Diana in the highest regard for her courage to speak out. When she died in Paris in 1997, the pain was personal, genuine and overwhelming. I didn’t cry as much when my own father died a year later: I had no tears left to shed.
When Camilla finally married the man she had always been in love with, I was neither convinced nor excited. I just didn’t want to know. How dare she have made Diana so unhappy, so left out? She wasn’t that young or that beautiful. Yes, she and Charles had more in common, but they should have decided that sooner!
I only began to thaw towards Camilla, drop by drop, after Queen Elizabeth died. She seemed to possess a quiet dignity. Suddenly, other women seemed really strident and loud. Remember the way Camilla calmed Charles down when he was upset with a pen and ink? As the culture changed and women embraced MeToo, refusing to be victims, the fact that Camilla had never complained, looked bored, or bleated on camera, “I’m not okay” suddenly became a bolt of lightning. force.
When Charles was diagnosed with cancer, she didn’t sit by his bed stroking his hand, she dusted herself off and continued working hard, with a smile on her face. When her beloved brother, environmentalist Mark Shand, died, she took charge and raised money to help with Asian elephant conservation.
I always disliked the fact that she liked to hunt foxes and was photographed mounted, drinking sherry. When hunting with dogs became illegal, she abandoned it, while many others continued. That she no longer participates in a blood sport that she had been taught to enjoy and that seemed normal to her and her class (Charles loved it too), is a welcome step in the right direction. Yes, we can change, yes we can bend to the will of the people.
Vegan Coronation Scroll Was a Win for Animal Lovers
Camilla was seen calming the situation as the King appeared upset over a pen.
Camilla wrote to PETA to announce that she would no longer buy anything with animal skins.
Earlier this week, Camilla wrote to PETA, the animal rights campaign group, to announce that she would no longer buy anything using animal fur. It’s a small step, since she can sometimes still wear old skins. Not as comforting as Queen Elizabeth sitting next to a straight-backed rescue beagle named Guy in her car on the way to Meghan’s wedding rehearsal, not an Awwww moment, but welcome nonetheless.
Camilla’s decision joins a long list of animal-friendly actions taken by the Royal Family in recent months. Earlier this month, the RSPCA announced that King Charles is its new patron, saying: “Her Majesty’s powerful voice for nature and regenerative farming will be vital in raising the profile of animal welfare and inspiring more people.” than ever to create a better world for everyone. animal.’ Foie gras is no longer served in the Royal Household, and the Coronation Scroll, the official record of last year’s ceremony, was produced on paper, not parchment, which is made from animal skin. But Rome was not built in a day. A 2023 Guardian investigation reported that over the past two decades Sandringham “has been linked to the deaths and disappearances of a number of legally protected birds”.
Animal Aid found that more than 7,000 mammals and birds died on royal lands in one year. Among them, thousands of foxes and corvids were killed to protect the farm’s pheasants from predators. Trapping is banned in Wales and Scotland, but not in England. In 2021, PETA wrote to the then Prince of Wales asking him to ban trapping at Sandringham, but claims to have received no response to this day. Balmoral is used to hosting “simple” shooting sessions.
But I do think Camilla is listening to what the ordinary British public wants. According to the RSPCA, 95 per cent of us don’t agree with wearing fur. Charles clearly takes note of his advice. I like to imagine her whispering in his ear, gently coaxing and guiding him. So, Camp Camilla it is. Congratulations to her that they are not bearskins. I can’t wait to see what long-standing tradition will meet a sticky end next…
