Queen Camilla gives rare interview on anniversary – reveals gifts and secret to happy marriage
The Queen has shared the secret to her happy marriage to King Charles as they marked their 20th anniversary in Rome.
Their Majesties spent the evening as guests of honour at a State Banquet hosted by Italy's President Mattarella, but planned to enjoy some private time together before their glamorous outing. Speaking earlier in the day to UK media covering the State Visit to Italy, she said: "Twenty years, who could believe it was 20 years? What is the secret? I don’t know…well…I suppose it's just sort of friendship, really.
"Laughing at the same things, getting on with life. I suppose doing this," she said, gesturing to the school where she was meeting young children learning about Paddington Bear, "takes up most of the time."
She and the King had spent the morning apart, carrying out separate engagements in the Italian capital, before being reunited at the Italian Senate, where the King mentioned their special day in his speech.
Camilla said: "We are always going in different directions, like ships that pass in the night really. We whizz past each other. In fact we have got a bit of a catch-up this afternoon."
So busy is their four-day schedule in Italy, that the royal couple will not exchange gifts until they return to the UK.
"We are going to do that when we get back," said the Queen. "We are going to save that. Otherwise you can't really….you have to rush it. You don't have time to say anything. No I think we might dig into our pockets and pull something out at the end of the day."
Asked if she had bought something special for her husband, she would not reveal what it was to keep it a surprise, but hinted: "Ah yes, well I have got something. Because it's china [the traditional gift for a 20th anniversary]."
The Queen has previously bought items of Wemyss ware for the King, who is a collector. His grandmother, the Queen Mother, was also a fan of the Scottish pottery.
Asked if she would like her notoriously hard-working husband to take things a little easy, she replied: "Dream on!" But she added that she and the King do manage to relax together and digest the day.
"We have time over dinner to do a bit of catching up," she said.The Queen also spoke about her love of Italy, saying she had visited "lots of times".
As a child, she spent holidays at Villa Ombrellino, a magnificent Tuscan villa owned by her great-grandmother Alice Keppel, who was the mistress of King Edward VII.
She said: "We used to come here as children. We used to go to Ischia, one of the lovely little islands off Naples, so I've always loved it here."
Asked if it was special to be spending her anniversary in the country she agreed, "It is. It would be very nice if we got a day off and went somewhere but that was not going to happen! You come to Italy and you feel better. They are so friendly. Everybody is so lovely. You’ve got the food, the weather, there's something in the air.
"Everything tastes better here. Why is it tomatoes, why is it pasta tastes better? You take it back to England it doesn't taste the same. They are a very relaxed [people] and happy."
