KEY POINTS

  • Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall described her late father-in-law, Prince Philip, as a "role model"
  • Prince Charles' wife said the late Duke of Edinburgh was a "very good person to take advice from"
  • She admitted that she is "petrified" of making speeches

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is getting candid about her relationship with her late father-in-law, Prince Philip, and one of the challenges she faces as a working royal.

Ahead of her 75th birthday on July 17, Prince Charles' wife sat down with Juliet Rieden of The Australian Women's Weekly on June 2 for an interview that was published this week. During their chat, Camilla reflected on her relationship with Queen Elizabeth II's husband, who died in April 2021 at the age of 99.

"The Duke of Edinburgh was always a very good ear," Camilla was quoted as saying by People. "He was a role model to me and a very good person to take advice from because he always told me what he thought."

Camilla also shared that she is not a fan of one aspect of royal life: public speaking.

"I get petrified making speeches," she admitted.

The image of Camilla featured on the cover of The Australian Women's Weekly was taken by Kate Middleton. The photo, which also appeared on the cover of the latest issue of British magazine Country Life, showed the Duchess of Cornwall on a bench with a trug filled with pelargoniums while wearing a blue and white floral dress and cardigan.

In addition to this, The Australian Women's Weekly shared a second photo of Camilla, also captured by Prince William's wife, in which the Duchess of Cornwall smiles as she leans against a fence in the garden of her home Raymill in Wiltshire, England.

It marked the first time Middleton had taken a formal portrait of Camilla for a magazine, Country Life editor Mark Hedges said in a statement.

"We are honored to have been chosen to be the first to publish this beautiful photograph," he continued. "The photographs are superb and we would be delighted to offer the Duchess of Cambridge another commission!"

Camilla guest-edited the July issue of Country Life to mark her 75th birthday and the magazine's 125th anniversary.

Meanwhile, Middleton is often behind birthday portraits of her three children — Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 — and other family moments.

In May, she and her husband Prince William shared three new photos the duchess took of Princess Charlotte to celebrate their daughter's 7th birthday.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles
Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles look at each other as they reopen the newly-renovated Edwardian community hall The Strand Hall during day three of a visit to Wales on July 4, 2018 in Builth Wells, Wales. Getty Images/Chris Jackson