When they’re together, there’s a lot of laughs. It’s the kind of warm, infectious, intimate humor enjoyed by the closest of friends.
But it’s a bond that transcends simple common interests, as both have had loved ones affected by the tragedy.
That’s why the Marchioness of Lansdowne rushed to defend Queen Camilla when Prince Harry, in his memoirs, sought to portray his stepmother as ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ who sacrificed him ‘on his personal public relations altar”.
Camilla was “hurt” by such personal attacks, Lady Lansdowne said. “It bothers her.
Her ringside seat during the crises and domestic storms that engulfed Camilla, 75, and the royal family fostered a strong sense of right and wrong and it was clear she was stung by the perceived injustice of the lyrics from Harry.
That’s why the Marchioness of Lansdowne (left) rushed to defend Queen Camilla (middle) when Prince Harry, in his memoir, sought to portray his stepmother as ‘dangerous’ and a ‘ villain ”who sacrificed him” on his personal public relations altar’
Camilla was ‘hurt’ by such personal attacks, Lady Lansdowne (right) said. “It bothers her. Her ringside seat during the crises and domestic storms that engulfed Camilla, 75, and the royal family fostered a strong sense of right and wrong and it was clear she was stung by the perceived injustice of the lyrics from Harry.
Tellingly, it was the only direct response to any of Harry’s claims as he went after not only his father’s wife, but also his brother and sister-in-law.
Lady Lansdowne’s comments also revealed insight into Camilla’s coping strategy. “She won’t let him get to her,” was the message.
“His philosophy,” added the Marquise, “is always ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will be fixed – the less said the sooner fixed’.”
It’s a saying that could also apply to the tall, thin marquise. Like Camilla, the interior designer known professionally as Fiona Shelburne had to wait several years before her husband Charlie, who was previously married to the Earl of St Germans’ daughter, put a ring on her finger.
But since marrying the Marquess of Lansdowne in 1987, Fiona, 68, has taken on a key role in Camilla’s life as part of her ‘support system’.
She was one of six friends appointed as a companion to the Queen to help with the coronation last month.
Fiona’s presence did much to dissipate Camilla’s nerves and cemented her position as ‘girl-in-chief’ of the Queen’s Companions, which also include Sarah Troughton, Jane von Westenholz, Lady Katharine Brook, Lady Sarah Keswick and Baroness (Carlyn ) Chisholm.
Several days later, a self-possessed Lady Lansdowne downplayed the remarkable transformation in her friend’s life from reviled mistress and third person in Princess Diana’s marriage to the admired Queen.
“Never in a million years,” she replied when asked if Camilla thought she would ever be queen. While this may have been reassuring and heartwarming, it rather contradicts the evidence of Charles’ concerted campaign to make his wife his crowned bride.
But perhaps we should excuse such hyperbole. The Marquise has been ubiquitous at some of Camilla’s darkest times.
When Princess Diana died, it was Lady Lansdowne who removed Camilla from the public eye, and when the Parker Bowles’ marriage ended she provided sanctuary for Camilla at Bowood, the Lansdownes’ seat in Wiltshire, for five months.
He’s a very confident, jovial guy, glass half full
While the King is currently out of license in Romania, friends such as Fiona will be on standby if the Queen wants to be entertained.
So what makes the architect’s daughter, born Fiona Merritt in Maldon, Essex, so indispensable?
“He’s a very confident, jovial, glass half full guy,” says an old friend. “But best of all, she is able to laugh at herself. This definitely appeals to Camilla. Since becoming queen, Camilla has reduced her circle of friends but she still has time for Fiona.
Among the Marquise’s other attributes is discretion, which is essential for any royal companion.
But for the notorious Camillagate tape, the illicitly recorded bedtime conversation between the then Prince of Wales and Camilla, the friendship with the Lansdownes could have remained private.
The tape revealed the network of country houses where the couple, then married but not to each other, would meet – Bowood, a Grade 1 listed 18th century heap with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, was the one of those boltholes.
While Camilla and Fiona have been friends for 50 years, Charles and buffalo hunter Lord Lansdowne, now 82, have known each other since childhood and the prince stayed at his parents’ Scottish home, Meikleour House in Perthshire in 1955.
The following year, the house was the scene of a terrible tragedy – which was to be repeated less than a decade later. In 1956, the future Marquess’ 17-year-old sister, Lady Caroline, was killed in a shooting incident.
When Camilla’s marriage fell apart in 1995, she and her dogs Freddie and Tosca stayed with the Shelburnes at Bowood House (pictured)
Nine years later, Charlie’s American-born mother Barbara, who had been a British clay pigeon champion, killed herself with a 12-gauge shotgun. Both mother and daughter were buried side by side in the nearby parish cemetery of Kinclaven.
After the death of his wife, the then marquis, a former foreign minister, retired from public life.
Eight years later he handed Bowood over to his son Charlie, who had married Lady Frances Eliot. The marriage did not last, and in 1980 the couple broke up.
It was during this time that Charlie acquired the intriguing nickname “the Comforter”. It was rumored that this was due to his habit of often being the first on the phone when a well-behaved couple broke up to go on a date with his wife.
He was related to Lady Leonora Lichfield, ex-wife of the photographer Earl of Lichfield.
However, he was also secretly dating Fiona, a former debutante, who had worked for wallpaper designer Colefax and Fowler and was part of a team hired for the restoration of Bowood House.
Fiona, although seven years younger than Camilla, had long been part of her national network. She was godmother to Camilla’s daughter, Laura, and spent the night before her wedding to Charlie at the Parker Bowles.
When Camilla’s marriage fell apart in 1995, she and her dogs Freddie and Tosca stayed with the Shelburnes at Bowood House.
Fiona has been a fixture alongside Camilla. She helped throw a surprise party in Highgrove for Charles’ 50th birthday and accompanied Camilla on an Aegean holiday in 2007 when she escaped the hubbub on the tenth anniversary of Diana’s death.
When Camilla’s mother died of osteoporosis, Prince Charles asked Charlie and Fiona to represent him at the memorial and lent them his chauffeur-driven Bentley. Bowood was later the backdrop for an osteoporosis fundraiser hosted by Camilla.
No one has been more reliable for Camilla than the “first in chief”.
Their friendship emerged from all the drama not only unscathed, but stronger than ever.
