The Cheeky Joke Camilla Parker Bowles Just Made About Colin Firth
It's probably safe to say we all know a tad bit more about the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles' love life than we really need to — but that doesn't mean it's not still fun when she gets a little cheeky from time to time. She may be a 74-year-old future queen, but Camilla is also a human being, after all. While on a royal visit to a Jane Austen museum, the duchess made an ever-so-slightly racy joke that first made us gasp in surprise — like when your grandma casually references Burt Reynolds — and then nod in agreement.
According to Us Weekly, Camilla was touring Jane Austen's House in England, which included an exhibit devoted to Regency-era undergarments called "Jane Austen Undressed." In addition to the petticoats, chemises, and stays from the actual Regency period, the display also features some of the iconic underthings from movie and TV adaptations of Jane Austen. If you've seen the BBC's 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" miniseries, you know where this is going.
Camilla Parker Bowles made a crack about Mr. Darcy's wet shirt
Perhaps the most famous scene in the BBC's 1995 series "Pride and Prejudice" showed Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy emerging from a lake, soaking wet, with a white shirt clinging to his chest. (Mr. Darcy walked so Anthony Bridgerton could run.) Seeing this iconic costume piece in the "Jane Austen Undressed" exhibit, Camilla Parker Bowles joked, "But he's not in it, that's a bit sad," according to Us Weekly. The duchess's tour guide, museum director Lizzie Dunford, added, "I know, that's sad, and it's not quite as damp as it was." Ladies! How scandalous! Camilla then joked that perhaps the museum could spray the shirt down for the sake of authenticity.
The Mr. Darcy joke wasn't quite as highbrow as the rest of Camilla's visit, which also included, according to the royal family's official Instagram, getting a peek at a first edition of "Pride and Prejudice," the classic work of literature that inspired Firth's wet shirt. But hey, even royals contain multitudes.