Camilla Parker Bowles is so controversial, she dresses the part. Here's her worst faux pas.
Purple is a color fit for royalty, and when it comes to Commonwealth Day,
Camilla Parker Bowles has opted for the shade many times over. Camilla's all-purple set has
become a bit of a tradition, which the duchess has managed to keep up for years,
not shying away from a bit of recycling. Her statement feathered purple hat was a trusty
companion at the service in 2012, 2017, and 2022, and we will doubtless see it again in the future.
However, according to the Express, Bowles is in an alleged breach of royal protocol
every time she dons purple for the Commonwealth Day Service. The outlet reports that royals are
typically expected to wear white, red, or blue for this particular occasion,
which marks a celebration and commemoration of fraternity between the Commonwealth countries.
However, there have been other royals besides Bowles who have chosen different
outfits throughout the years. At the 2020 Commonwealth Day Service,
Meghan Markle chose an emerald green outfit that echoed a dress her late mother-in-law Princess
Diana wore in 1982. And in 2022, both Camilla and Kate Middleton seemingly followed suit.
Bowles stood out in a purple Fiona Clare design,
while Kate wore a stunning sapphire ensemble that included a Catherine Walker coat dress.
Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles's wedding on April 9, 2005 drew a huge amount of
media attention. As pretty much everyone is aware, both the bride and groom had been married before.
Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles from 1973 to 1995, while Prince Charles
finalized his divorce from Princess Diana in 1996. Consequently, there was a huge focus on
Charles and Camilla's wedding, with exclusive scrutiny reserved for the bride's wardrobe.
Notably, Camilla decided to forgo the traditional wedding tiara for her big day.
Camilla dressed in all-white for the civil ceremony, pairing her outfit with a hat by
fashion favorite Philip Treacy. Her second outfit, which she wore for the wedding blessing attended
by Charles' mother, the queen, included a diamond-tipped gold leaf fascinator,
also designed by Treacy. However, a tiara was nowhere in sight in either wedding-day look.
While most royal brides borrow tiaras from the monarch for their weddings,
Camilla decided to ditch this tradition. It's possible that
the duchess decided to keep her nuptials low-key because she'd been married before.
Another possible reason could be that since the wedding ceremony wasn't held in a church,
the bride didn't think a tiara was necessary. Either way, Camilla broke the mold.
The Duchess of Cornwall has a luxurious collection of headwear, and it would
seem that she has a penchant for feathers. She made heads turn in 2018, for instance,
when she stepped out for a church service with a cream-colored bushel of feathers topping her
elegant ensemble. Good Housekeeping went so far as to describe the piece as "eccentric,"
noting that the duchess had previously worn the hat to her nephew's wedding several years earlier.
"And you have no style or sense of fashion."
In 2021, she demonstrated her love of feathers yet again by wearing an ostrich feather hat
in black while attending the annual Remembrance Day Service.
While hats are typically reserved for formal occasions in royal circles,
Camilla is clearly a fan of flamboyant headwear. As milliner Philip Treacy told Love,
"I first met [Camilla] many years ago when she came to buy a hat.
I expected her to want something very conservative
but she wanted something beautiful. I respected that; I like her attitude."
Being Prince Charles' second wife, Camilla Parker Bowles has forever been at the
unfortunate disadvantage of comparison to his first wife, the late Princess Diana. As a result,
Camilla has, on several occasions, been accused of imitating Diana's style.
Memorably, when Camilla visited the Vatican in 2009, she went for a black ensemble including
a lace veil and pearl necklace. This look was likened to the outfit Princess Diana
wore when she met Pope John Paul II in 1985. Despite what detractors claim about Camilla's
alleged copycat attire, it is actually the protocol for the Pope's audience to wear black.
For instance, the queen, who typically only wears black when in mourning,
wore a similar look when she met the Pope in 1980 and in 2000.
Whether or not this particular outfit was inappropriate or not,
Camilla can't seem to avoid those Princess Diana comparisons.
"I have to put my hand up. Before lockdown, I wasn't a great lover of the internet."
Camilla Parker Bowles has faced a flood of negative press because of the
illicit relationship she conducted with Prince Charles during his marriage to Princess Diana.
Though the duchess has worked hard to shed that reputation over the years,
criticism still follows Camilla in many of the things she does.
For example, a wave of negativity came her way in 2019 when she sported a brooch redesigned
from a diamond-emerald necklace that was in Princess Diana's ownership before her death.
Camilla wore the pin as part of an emerald green ensemble to mark the 50th anniversary of Prince
Charles' investiture. The original ornament was a family heirloom passed down by the Queen Mother,
which Diana had been photographed wearing. After Diana's death, several pieces of her
jewelry were returned to the royal family and have reportedly since been redistributed.
While Camilla faced much scrutiny for this particular decision,
it's actually not that uncommon for royals to have precious pieces of jewelry redesigned.
For instance, alterations were famously made to Kate
Middleton's 12-carat engagement ring that once belonged to Princess Diana.
In a move that no other woman in the British monarchy would have dared,
Camilla Parker Bowles recycled the white knee-length dress she wore to marry Prince
Charles. At the opening session of the 2007 National Assembly of Wales,
the duchess rocked the memorable Robinson Valentine dress a second time over.
The confidence with which Camilla carried her repeat outfit wasn't surprising,
since she's quickly become the undisputed queen of wardrobe recycling.
In fact, in 2018, she rewore a mint green ensemble within the span of one month,
first at Prince Charles' 70th birthday celebration in May and then at the Royal Ascot in June.
Camilla Parker Bowles' wardrobe isn't all bows and frills. Actually, the royal can often be
spotted decompressing in casual denims, and she's one of the few top members of
the British monarchy to do so. In fact, Camilla appears to be a self-professed denim expert.
Appearing on BBC Radio 5 in 2020 during the pandemic, she disclosed,
"I've been very, very happy with my jeans. It will be very hard to get out
of them again. I think you get into a sort of way of life, don't you?"
As for why we don't see many British royals out and about in denim trousers,
an etiquette expert told the BBC,
"Many places will not allow jeans as they are still seen as very casual wear,
so it is better to play safe."
Camilla Parker Bowles isn't averse to experimenting with big and bold fashion
choices when the occasion calls for it. But given the fact that she is exposed to
a seemingly unending storm of scrutiny, her sartorial choices don't always go
down well in the court of public opinion. A Russian-style hat she sported back in 2010
at the Royal Family's Sandringham Christmas morning church service is a case in point.
Camilla's eye-catching accessory was allegedly made of real fur,
which led to a massive outcry. In fact, the Daily Mail criticized the duchess for the item, writing,
"The wearing by our Royal Family of a product that's deemed too cruel to
be produced in this country — fur farms were banned here in 2000 — is simply unacceptable."
However, Camilla certainly seems to be drawn to furry products. In 2022,
she was spotted at Southend-on-Sea wearing a smart black fuzzy-trimmed hat. However,
it was reportedly the faux kind this time.
It's also worth pointing out that the queen only relatively recently disavowed fur.
The queen's senior dresser Angela Kelly wrote in her book "The Other Side of the Coin:
The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe,"
"If Her Majesty is due to attend an engagement in particularly cold weather,
from 2019 onwards fake fur will be used to make sure she stays warm."
The forever tastefully dressed Camilla Parker Bowles had a rather peculiar fashion moment
in 2021, when she was spotted wearing a pair of fuzzy slippers during a public appearance.
The internet collectively did a double take when pictures surfaced of Bowles' odd choice of
footwear when she visited the London Islamic Cultural Society and Mosque in April 2021.
Camilla was there to look over social service activities at
the mosque in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But what left many scratching their heads was her apparently mismatched wardrobe. Basically,
the contrast between her cheetah-print face mask and soft slippers seemed far too wild to be true.
The mystery of the black slip-ons was soon solved when it came to light that they weren't part of
Bowles' original ensemble. People reported that Camilla started the visit in heeled shoes and,
in adherence to mosque rules, swapped them out for the cozy footwear. The
Diamante Trim Slippers by British brand Pour Moi retail for around $34,
and according to Hello, worshippers at the mosque gave them to the duchess.
Camilla Parker Bowles' fashion has certainly evolved during her time in the public eye.
Prior to her official entry into the British royal family when she married Prince Charles in 2005,
it wasn't uncommon to hear vicious criticism of Bowles' sartorial choices. In fact, Camilla made
it on to the notorious Ten Worst Dressed Women List of legendary American fashion critic Richard
Blackwell on four occasions, and he allegedly once nicknamed her the "duchess of dowdy."
In 1994, Camilla topped Blackwell's list, which also featured prominent names like
Demi Moore and Holly Hunter. Blackwell reportedly wrote of the duchess' style,
"Camilla's fashion image is way off track. She looked in the mirror and watched it crack."
Bowles also appeared on Blackwell's list in 1995,
2001, and 2006. However, in the years since, Bowles' fashion has been anything but drab.
"Are you wearing the…" "The Chanel boots? Yeah I am."
Fiona Clare, Bowles' longtime dresser, told Vanity Fair,
"The duchess has really found her style [...] I wouldn't say she is into clothes,
but she has found her niche. She is very elegant and she knows what works."