Queen Camilla Gets Personal About Queen Elizabeth: 'Will Always Remember Her Smile'

Shafiq Najib
·3 min read
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ASCOT, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 19: Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive by carriage on day 2 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2013 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
ASCOT, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 19: Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive by carriage on day 2 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2013 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Queen Camilla is fondly remembering the late Queen Elizabeth II.

As part of a tribute package for the BBC film edover the past three months, the Queen Consort, 75, expressed her admiration for the late monarch and mother-in-law who died at Balmoral Castle on Sept. 8. She was 96 years old.

"She's been part of our lives forever," she said. "I'm 75 now, and I can't remember anyone except the Queen being there."

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 03: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall attend the Ceremonial Welcome in the Buckingham Palace Garden for President Trump during day 1 of his State Visit to the UK on June 3, 2019 in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

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Reflecting on the late Queen's 70-year-reign, the Queen Consort continued, "It must have been so difficult for her being a solitary woman. There weren't women prime Ministers or Presidents. She was the only one, so I think she carved her own role."

"She's got those wonderful blue eyes, that when she smiles they light up her whole face," she added. "I will always remember her smile. That smile is unforgettable. "

Following the Queen's death, the Queen Consort and her husband King Charles III have been on a whirlwind trip and taking on official duties as the nation mourns the loss of the late Queen.

In his first televised speech as the new monarch, King Charles, 73, officially named his wife Queen Consort.

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"I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla," King Charles said in his first address to the nation following the death of his mother. "In recognition of her own loyal public service since our marriage 17 years ago, she becomes my Queen Consort. I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much."

The new King and Queen have been on a four-nation tour of the United Kingdom, with stops in Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. While fulfilling her royal tasks, the Queen Consort reportedly suffered a broken toe, which she sustained prior to the Queen's death.

According to The Telegraph, Camilla has been in "quite a lot of pain." However, a source told the outlet, that she is "getting on" and has been "an absolute trouper."

RELATED: King Charles and Queen Camilla Visit Wales to Complete U.K. Tour Following Queen Elizabeth's Death

On Friday, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended a service of prayer and reflection for the life of the Queen at Llandaff Cathedral in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. They later received a Motion of Condolence at the Senedd, while the King is set to conduct audiences at Cardiff Castle and attend a reception for local charities with Camilla.

Earlier this week, while outside of Hillsborough Castle in Belfast on Tuesday, where she and the king viewed the flowers, notes, and other tributes left in honor of the late Queen, Camilla told a well-wisher "We are doing our best."