In the latest instalment of Palace Confidential, royal commentators Robert Hardman and Rebecca English tackle the monarchy questions viewers have long been curious to ask.
Among the topics raised by several audience members was the King and Queen’s habit of spending many weekends in different places.
After marrying King Charles in 2005, Camilla made a point of keeping Ray Mill House in Wiltshire, the property she purchased following the end of her first marriage, as her own private retreat. Since then, the Queen has frequently used it as a weekend sanctuary away from the King.
On the latest episode of Palace Confidential, royal experts Robert Hardman and Rebecca English answer viewers’ questions about the monarchy
Several viewers wanted to know why the King and Queen often appear to spend their weekends apart
Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English said the set-up is one that suits the couple well, noting that Charles and Camilla were used to spending extended periods apart before they wed.
‘They live quite independent lives, and I don’t think it affects their relationship at all,’ she said.
‘[Ray Mill] is a real bolthole for her. It’s very informal. She has the children over. She has the grandchildren over, whereas the King can potter around his gardens doing his dry stone walling at Highgrove. He can do his own things.
‘I can understand why it looks a little odd to people, but it actually works for them. Often when you go on a royal tour, if we’re landing at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, you’ll often see two cars turn up and they’ll give each other a kiss.
‘It just works for them and I have learnt not to judge at all.’
Hardman, who travelled extensively with the then Prince Charles during his years as a royal reporter, agreed. He added that Ray Mill offers Camilla’s family a sort of ‘decompression’ from the formality of royal life.
‘Her grandchildren need to have somewhere that they feel is theirs, where they can run around,’ he began.
‘If her grandchildren want to run around in Windsor or at the Palace, it’s like: “Oh don’t knock that vase over, you can’t kick a ball in there!”
‘When they’re at Granny’s house, it’s Granny’s house. Everyone can put on jeans and run around. They don’t have to call anybody ma’am or Royal Highness. It’s a sort of decompression, I think.’
When the royal couple married in 2005, Camilla was determined to keep Ray Mill House in Wiltshire, the home she bought after her first marriage ended, as a private bolthole
English shared a glimpse of Queen Camilla’s life at Ray Mill to give a sense of how it differs from palace life.
‘I remember once during the Covid lockdown, doing an interview with the Queen, well, obviously Duchess of Cornwall as she was then, about a particular issue that they wanted to get out there. I think it was about domestic abuse and domestic violence,’ she said.
‘The call was put through to me via the press office, it was clear that she was at Ray Mill, and there was obviously a horse clip-clopping nearby because the dog started barking, and I could hear her saying: “Excuse me, shut up!”
‘So it kind of made you realise this really is a homely environment for them, away from the formality and pressures of palaces.’
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