queen caMilla has featured prominently for almost three decades, and even more so since her husband, King Charles, succeeds to the throne in 2023.
Having married King Charles in 2005, the Queen Consort is more than familiar with royal life within the walls of Buckingham Palace, but her own family’s royal blood and connection to the historic landmark may surprise some. .
Since Queen Victoria’s reign began in 1837, Buckingham Palace has been the official home of the sovereign and, today, is the administrative headquarters of the King and several members of his family.
The building, which is currently undergoing essential maintenance works, has 775 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest rooms, 188 staff rooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.
Although the palace has remained largely unchanged for several years, there was an adaptation after Queen Victoria’s wedding in 1840 which provides a special link between the history of the famous building and Queen Camilla.
Having married King Charles (right) in 2003, the Queen Consort (left) is more than familiar with Buckingham Palace, but her own connection to the historic landmark may surprise some.
Although distant, the earliest link to Buckingham Palace comes from Camilla’s royal blood, going back three generations.
The Queen Consort’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Lieutenant-Colonel William Coutts Keppel, was born in 1832.
The distinguished military figure was the 7th Earl of Albermarle and, through Charles Lennox, was sixth in the direct line of accession to Charles II, who reigned over Scotland, England and Ireland in the late 17th century.
Camilla’s mother, Rosalind Maud Cubitt, was also the great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Cubitt, who came from modest origins in Norfolk and was the son of a carpenter.
However, Cubitt became an accomplished master builder, who made his fortune while traveling to India and Australia as a carpenter in the late 18th century.
Having established his own construction company in Gray’s Inn Road, London, Cubitt became responsible for iconic buildings such as the London Institute and Belgravia Square, as well as personally constructing almost a kilometer of the Thames Embankment.
Camilla’s royal connection to Buckingham Palace comes after arguably Thomas Cubitt’s most impressive achievement: his work on the monument itself.
Cubitt built the east front of the palace in 1847, including the famous balcony where Camilla stood to commemorate her coronation as queen consort in 2023, and now greets crowds on important occasions.
Camilla’s great-great-grandfather, Thomas Cubitt, was an accomplished builder responsible for building part of Buckingham Palace in 1847.
The Queen Consort’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Lieutenant-Colonel William Coutts Keppel, was the seventh Earl of Albermarle and sixth in line to the throne in the 17th century.
A map of Gray’s Inn Road in 1677, about 130 years before Thomas Cubitt settled
The statue of Thomas Cubitt in Pimlico, which was built following Cubitt’s work on iconic buildings such as the London Institute and Belgravia Square, and others in Pimlico and Bloomsbury.
After Cubitt’s death in 1855, Queen Victoria said: ‘In his sphere of life, with the immense business he had in hand, he is a real national loss. A better, kinder, or simpler, unpretentious man never breathed.
In 2022, FEMAIL revealed the various professional activities of royal relatives and the boost they can gain from ties to the monarchy.
Princess Eugenie’s husband, Jack Brooksbank, has landed a job in Portugal, where he does marketing, sales and promotion for property developer Michael Meldman’s Discovery Land Company.
Meanwhile, Princess Beatrice’s husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi has expanded his multi-million-dollar property company Banda Property into Australia, with a series of projects in Sydney.
Even the Princess of Wales’s mother, Carole Middleton, has seen her business, Party Pieces, flourish thanks to her royal seal of approval, shipping 4,000 orders weekly and expanding her business to the United States in October 2022.