7 Times Queen Camilla Proved She Makes Her Own Rules

The British monarchy has been changing rapidly, particularly since King Charles succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 2022. Since then, he's cut down on spending, decided not to move into Buckingham Palace, and encouraged his heir, Prince William, to forge a new path for the royal family.

Amidst all this change, Queen Camilla has been a supportive partner, which should come as no surprise because she herself has been known to break the rules. Indeed, she often tends to follow her gut rather than protocol, once telling the Mail on Sunday, via Popsugar, that her main goal was to remain grounded. "You also have to laugh at yourself because if you can't, you may as well give up," she revealed. "I sometimes think to myself, 'Who is this woman? It can't possibly be me,' and that's really how you survive."

Since being thrust into the spotlight, particularly after her 2005 marriage to Charles, Camilla has repeatedly proved she firmly believes in that statement. According to The Times's Tom Quinn, she's even been known to stand up to her royal husband. Before receiving her queenly title, she reportedly pushed back, telling Charles, via Mirror, "Can't we get away from all this protocol?" But it's not just behind closed doors that she does as she pleases — Camilla has been just as honest in the public eye. Here are seven times Queen Camilla proved she makes her own rules.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, Charles immediately took over her royal duties. However, King Charles III's coronation didn't take place until May 2023, and it was then that Camilla Parker Bowles received a new title. The Queen Consort officially became Queen during her own coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, but despite following tradition to a T on her big day, it seems she isn't normally a fan of centuries-old rules.

Just two months after taking the throne, Camilla decided to revamp her household and do away with a role that had been around since medieval times. While countless queens before her had ladies-in-waiting who would spend almost their entire day helping the monarch, Camilla wasn't having it. In November 2022, she revamped the system, changing the job title to Queen's companion, via the BBC, and making the role less frequent and more informal. Camilla chose six close friends and tasked them with accompanying her to public events on an as-needed basis. No longer were they expected to help with everything from dressing the queen to writing letters on her behalf, although royal expert Brian Hoey told the Daily Mail one very personal aspect did remain. A top priority for any companion was to visit event venues ahead of time to find an appropriate private bathroom which only the Queen would use. Then, once the event began, they would accompany Camilla and guard the door so no one could sneak in before or after her.

Queen Elizabeth was a stickler for tradition and one rule she always followed related to how she interacted with the public. According to British royal custom, the monarch should never be touched. Hugs and kisses are forbidden, and even something as commonplace as a handshake needs to be initiated by the royal and should be brief and light. At least, that was the case until Queen Camilla arrived on the scene. As she's shown repeatedly, she's not so stuck on customs and follows her own inner voice when it comes to accepting physical contact.

In 2022, for example, she broke protocol when she happily held hands with a five-year-old boy whose dream it was to meet her and Charles (who also obliged). Years later, in May 2026, she was photographed hugging Anthoula Katsimatides at the National September 11 Memorial in New York. Katsimatides, whose brother died in the attack, asked Camilla if she could have a hug and again, the royal did what she felt was right. "She smiled and said 'of course,'" Katsimatides told Hello!.

And it's not just everyday members of the public Camilla has gotten close with. Earlier that year, she received a hug and kiss from Geri Halliwell-Horner while visiting a local charity. "This is a massive break of royal protocol," Charles' former butler, Grant Harold, told Marie Claire, noting the former Spice Girl should have curtsied or at least waited for Camilla to make the first move. "[It] shows how much more relaxed [the queen] is about things," he mused.

One of the many strict rules the royal family has to follow is to never outpace the reigning monarch. In other words, when the family is out walking in public, the king or queen is always first while the others are expected to follow based on their place in line to the throne. It's a way to showcase the fact that no one outranks the monarch, and that includes their partner. Despite being married to the royal, they shouldn't walk next to them and certainly not in front of them. Indeed, Prince Philip never walked faster than Queen Elizabeth, always leaving a few steps between them as he followed her stride at public events.

However, that hasn't stopped Camilla from doing as she pleases and walking wherever she likes, whenever she likes. She's repeatedly been spotted breaking the rule, including at the 2025 Royal Ascot and on Christmas Day at the Sandringham Estate. King Charles himself is likely not on board with the breach in etiquette, as he's been caught speeding up and even hopping in order to get ahead of his quick-footed wife. And yet, despite his efforts to keep the rule in place, that hasn't stopped Camilla from setting her own pace.

Royal style has long been a topic of hot debate, and Queen Camilla hasn't been spared from the public's judgmental eye. However, it was her beloved purple ensemble that had critics crying foul during the 2022 Commonwealth Day celebration. As The U.S. Sun noted, royals are typically expected to mark the occasion by wearing colors pulled from the U.K.'s flag, namely red, white, and blue. However, Camilla pushed those expectations aside, instead choosing a purple coat dress she'd previously worn.

Camilla sported another rule-breaking getup in 2026, arriving at the Badminton Horse Trials in a pantsuit. The choice was seen as a step away from Queen Elizabeth's prior expectations that female members of the royal family wear skirts and dresses when at public events.

As it turns out, Camilla has long been following her own fashion sense. During her 2005 wedding day to Charles, for example, she shunned the royal tiara and replaced it with two hats commissioned from A-list milliner Phillip Treacy. Speaking with the Daily Express U.S., fashion expert Louisa Rogers noted that Camilla's unorthodox choice was likely her way of showing the world that she makes her own choices. "[It] points to a conscious effort to play down the traditionally feminine and traditionally royal choice of headgear," Rogers reasoned. "Millinery ... still holds its regal connotations without being seen as too ostentatious."

King Charles has regularly broken royal protocols, and that includes being openly affectionate with his wife. Traditionally, royals have chosen to keep any type of physical contact to a minimum, whether it be with members of the public or with each other. Queen Elizabeth staunchly believed it would be inappropriate for her to engage in PDA with Prince Philip while she performed her duties as a working royal, but Charles and Camilla don't appear to share her view. In fact, they've repeatedly strayed from the unspoken rule, starting in 2001 when Camilla greeted her then-boyfriend with a kiss on the cheek during an event at Somerset House. Charles has been equally affectionate through the years, often putting his arm around Camilla or offering her his hand.

What's more, they've even gone as far as to share a public kiss on the lips, including in 2006 after Charles won a polo match and during a 2017 tour of Asia. More recently, their 2026 State Visit to the United States ended with a goodbye kiss, as Charles headed to Bermuda while Camilla returned home. Interestingly, the one occasion when royals have openly kissed on the lips is their wedding day, but Charles and Camilla actually chose not to do so when they tied the knot in 2005.

Queen Camilla may be expected to carry herself in a stoic, reserved manner, but she has struggled with filtering her natural reactions. A prime example came in 2019 when Donald and Melania Trump visited Clarence House for tea. After taking a group photo together, the Trumps and then-Prince Charles began to walk away while Camilla turned around and threw a quick wink at members of the royal household staff and the press. The moment quickly went viral and garnered her major praise, with one fan tweeting, "Camilla's wink is all sane people on earth." While we may never know the true meaning behind the wink, it did send one very clear message: Camilla often does what she feels in the moment.

Other similar instances have proven just how down-to-earth she is, like the time she broke protocol to fight off a pesky bee. While visiting Arlington National Cemetery in 2026 to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Camilla momentarily forgot about her official duties and did what anyone else would have done: she tried to swat the insect away. As it changed course and went after Charles, she then tried to bat it away from him, creating a memorable moment that was totally unfiltered.

Queen Elizabeth was known for her sense of humor, and just like her predecessor, Camilla has a sharp wit that she's not afraid to show off. Over the years, she's delivered plenty of sassy remarks, like the cheeky joke she made about Colin Firth in 2022 or the time she openly scolded King Charles. Speaking with garden party guests in 2024 (via X), Camilla assured them Charles was getting better after his cancer diagnosis, then quipped, "Well, he would if he behaved himself." The following year, when asked if Charles was considering lessening his workload to focus on his health, she fired back the perfect two-word reply, saying, via People, "Dream on."

Another headline-making quip came at the 2026 Royal Ascot when she made attendees laugh with a one-liner. As onlookers told her they'd been waiting to see her and Charles for hours, one fan joked, via Hello!, that it wasn't so bad because, "We have plenty of wine." To that, Camilla quickly responded, "That's the answer." And it seems she's just as funny in private, as royal biographer Gyles Brandreth told InStyle. Apparently, Camilla wasn't keen to turn 80 and so, he revealed, "When you say, 'Next year is the big one,' she pulls a face and says, 'Thank you for reminding me.'"