Royal family
A former Palace staffer is lifting the lid on how King Charles and Queen Camilla’s separate living arrangement is the secret to their strong marriage.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles) have been married for 20 years. While this is the second marriage for both of them they’ve been married to each other longer than they were to their first spouses, leaving some to wonder what’s the secret to their lengthy marriage.
Well, according to someone who used to work for the royals, it’s the fact they aren’t together all the time and have separate homes.
While the official residence of the king and queen is their Clarence House property in London, Camilla loves to retreat to her Ray Mill House in Wiltshire, England, whenever she doesn’t need to be in the city or attend an engagement.
Here’s more on how that arrangement has been working for the last two decades.
King Charles and Queen Camilla agreed to separate houses before they wed
Jack Stooks, who was King Charles’ senior gardener at the royal’s Highgrove estate for 21 years, spoke about how ever since he’s known Charles and Camilla they’ve had a separate living arrangement.
Speaking on behalf of JeffBet, Stooks explained: “Before Charles and Camilla got married, they agreed Camilla would keep her home. The separate space was important for them both and their families. For Camilla, her Wiltshire house had so many memories of raising her family. It’s somewhere she can retreat and escape royal life … It’s somewhere she can go with her family and have a laid-back weekend without prying eyes.”
Stooks added that the king and queen don’t mind being apart sometimes as they have still been able to maintain a strong marriage.
“Charles enjoys time alone and he’s got a very strong work ethic. He’s been known to work at his desk into the early hours,” the former gardener shared. “Camilla, meanwhile, has a lot of friends and is close to her family. They’re both independent people and don’t mind time apart. The fact they don’t live in each other’s pockets is one of the many reasons their marriage works.”
The king and queen sleep in separate beds when they are under the same roof
When King Charles and Queen Camilla are under the same roof they’re not sleeping in the same bed, and there are reasons for that.
“[Charles] has a room with a double bed, decorated to his own taste. Camilla has her own room with a double bed, decorated just the way she likes it,” a friend of the king and queen told the Daily Mail.
While that might seem like an odd arrangement to some, it’s not uncommon with royal couples.
“In England, the upper class always have had separate bedrooms. You don’t want to be bothered with snoring or someone flinging a leg around,” explained the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin Lady Pamela Hicks.
Moreover, as The Mirror noted, another reason for the arrangement may have to do with the fact that the king has suffered from back pain for years, and sleeping alone in a bed makes things easier for him during the night.
