Camilla (née Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles; born 17 July 1947) is Queen consort of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III.

Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington in England and educated in England, Switzerland, and France. In 1973, she married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she has two children. They divorced in 1995.  In 2005, Camilla married Charles in the Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised Anglican blessing at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

As Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla carried out public engagements, often alongside her husband. She is also a patron, president, or member of numerous charities and organizations. Since 1994, Camilla has campaigned to raise awareness of osteoporosis, which has earned her several honours and awards. She has also raised awareness of issues such as rape, sexual abuse, literacy, animal welfare, and poverty. On 8 September 2022, Camilla became queen consort upon the death of her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II.

---

Paul F. Hughes, CD, Honorary Colonel of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada said today that he is “delighted” that the successor to HRH Princess Alexandra, KG, GCVO as Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada will be Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall effective 1 January 2011.

“Princess Alexandra has been our Colonel-in-Chief for 50 years and we were extremely sorry that she has decided to step down. However, she has many duties to perform in the United Kingdom and we wish her well for the future. She will always have a place in our hearts.

“In welcoming Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall to our regiment during the celebrations of our 150th anniversary, we are pleased that our new Colonel-in-Chief is already familiar with rifle green in that she is Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion Rifles in Great Britain. Additionally, her father, Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand, MC and Bar was a decorated World War Two soldier who was awarded the Military Cross, first for his bravery in action at Dunkirk and later in North Africa,” Col Hughes said.

“We are also privileged to be the first Canadian regiment to have HRH The Duchess of Cornwall as our Colonel-in-Chief,” he added.

As wife of HRH Prince Charles, she travelled extensively with him including Canada in November 2010.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall’s style and title in full was Her Royal Highness The Princess Charles Philip Arthur George, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, Princess of Scotland.

HRH first inspected a Guard of Honour and addressed the veterans, soldiers and families of the QOR on her visit to Canada on May 22, 2012.

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL, LG, GCVO,
COLONEL-IN-CHIEF OF THE QUEEN’S OWN RIFLES OF CANADA,
ADDRESSES HER REGIMENT AT MOSS PARK ARMOURY
May 22, 2012

“As your proud Colonel-in-Chief, I feel deeply honoured to be standing here today at your home in Moss Park Armoury, following in the footsteps of the late Queen Mary and Princess Alexandra.

Cela est pour moi un grand honneur que d’être parmi vous aujourd’hui, et j’espère que cette visite sera la première de plusieurs rencontres avec vous, les membres de mon régiment.

Since my appointment in 2010, I have looked forward enormously to this moment when I can personally experience the professionalism and proud history of this great regiment. It has been a huge pleasure for me to meet so many serving soldiers, their families, and many veterans here today. It is quite clear that your desire to serve Canada and uphold the standards of The Queen’s Own Rifles is second to none.

You are a regiment with a long and hugely respected history – 152 years, which, I believe, makes you the longest-serving infantry regiment in Canada. Whether holding the line, as part of the Canadian 1st Division, in the hellish conditions of the trenches during the First World War or landing on Juno Beach and reaching your objective in World War II: you have always covered yourselves in glory and your Victoria Crosses are a testimony to the courage and legendary exploits of the regiment.

To the families here today, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the unwavering support you have given to your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters, your fathers and mothers, your husbands, wives and partners, for keeping the home fires burning whilst your loved ones are deployed elsewhere. For the relatives of the 76 soldiers who deployed in Afghanistan, it must have been a particularly worrying time and I am greatly relieved that all those soldiers returned without sustaining serious injury.

As the daughter of a highly-decorated World War II hero, the great-great-great granddaughter of a Canadian Prime Minister, Sir Allan McNab, and Royal Colonel of 4 Rifles, a British regiment closely allied to your own, I feel very much a part of your regimental family, so please remember how much my association with you all, as your Colonel-in-Chief, means to me, and what interest, concern and pride I have in all you do.”

(Remarks made by the new Colonel-in-Chief at Moss Park Armoury in Toronto during her visit on Tuesday, 22 May, 2012.)

On 5 June 2014 the Duchess was visited with D-Day veteran Jack Hadley and current members of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.

She also visited the Juno Beach Museum where she had a chance to see the items from the Regimental Museum’s “Rolph Jackson“ collection.