Queen Camilla may be watching her popularity grow now, but there was a time when Her Majesty struggled to win over the affections of the public. During her first official few years on the royal stage, particularly after she married King Charles in 2005, Camilla had to deal with a lot of criticism from members of the public.

This criticism dated back to years prior, with Camilla often disliked by the public for having an affair with Charles – who was Prince of Wales at the time – during his marriage to Diana. While negative public opinion about Camilla, 78, has been hard to shake, it seems that this has finally passed, especially over the last 18 months.

Since the King was diagnosed with cancer, Queen Camilla has stepped up more than ever before, with one royal expert claiming that this shows how “right” Princess Diana was about her.

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As reported by The Mirror, veteran royal expert and former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said that Diana, who died in 1997, was right to call Camilla “loyal”, as she has stuck by the King during some of his hardest times.

Jennie said: “I think part of it is because she so much wants the man she loves to be proud of her, and to pull her weight in their partnership.

“But also it must be so gratifying to have earned widespread approval – even affection – from a public who once ganged up against her as the ‘marriage breaker’ and the ‘other woman’ who made Diana so unhappy.

“I think Diana was absolutely right to tell me that Camilla was ‘loyal’ and that Charles’s love for Camilla was stronger than any marriage he might ever have made.”

Jennie also said Camilla “has grown immeasurably in confidence” over recent years, which is now clear for all to see.

In the latest YouGov poll, Queen Camilla was ranked as the seventh most popular member of the Royal Family, ranking above Princess Eugenie, Princess Beatrice, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew.

While 43% of those asked by YouGov had a positive opinion about Camilla, 44% had a negative one, while 13% said they didn’t know.

This suggests that while Camilla’s popularity may be on the up, there is still work to do to win over the public.