At 58, she is the best-dressed woman around. Once denounced as a frump by the cattery of fashion editors, Camilla is now the People's Cinders who finally went to the ball.
She dazzled onlookers at her son Tom's wedding recently, prompting the Daily Telegraph to comment: "The Duchess of Cornwall, who has perfected how to dress impeccably for her royal life, wore a pale blue dress with matching coat made by Kensington couturiers Robinson Valentine. She looked perfectly understated and elegant. She also wore a stunning halo of stripped feathers by Philip Treacy similar to the headdress she chose for her own wedding five months ago."
Days later, it was announced that Camilla is also expanding her charitable work and is now patron of nine associations including the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists. But there's no time to put the feet up just yet. A lot done, more to do!
Here, she has rather dropped out of the news. Which seems odd - as her marriage to Prince Charles appears to have sparked an outburst of riotous celebration by loyalists in some northern counties. And since they're not going away, you know, it might be useful to keep tabs on The Firm, as the royal family is sometimes known, which continues to inspire the most tremendous affection among a significant number of Irish men and women. But it's not easy. Sneaking a peek at your cleaning lady's copy of OK! is most unsatisfactory and HELLO! is so last century.
Remember all that nonsense at the time of the wedding about a possible constitutional crisis in Britain? How even the thought of her becoming queen might cause the sky to fall in, sterling to plummet or, at the very least, monocles to pop from the eye-sockets of retired colonels? There was hysterical talk about emergency legislation having to be rushed through the House of Commons and rambling articles in British newspapers about how Canada, the Falklands, Ascension Island and the Lord knows where the sun never sets these days - not to mention our own fourth green field - might be thrown into turmoil?
Well, guess what? A couple of kids punctured a hole in this balloon of hot air, as children often do. Camilla's first solo engagement since becoming a member of the Royal Family was to open a medical research centre at Southampton General Hospital in her role as president of Britain's National Osteoporosis Society. During the visit she was presented with a posy by two-year-old Emily Forrester and a card co-signed by sister Jessica which read : "We think you will be a lovely Queen!" And in one bound she was free!
A photograph showing the card featured prominently in the following day's media coverage and there wasn't another peep about constitutional crisis. After all, who's going to argue with cutesy kids - the "subjects" of the future? What hard-hearted boozy hack would dare break Tinkerbelle hearts and sully innocent minds with some claptrap about the Lord Chancellor's reservations or the precarious position of the Anglican Church on Pitcairn Island? Why, even some of Fleet Street's most macho left-wing brutes are known to have daughters - whom they secretly call "Princess" at home. In fairyland, a king's wife is queen. Simple.
So that was that. Now they're all mad about her - press and public alike. And she has taken to them - working the crowds at fetes and school openings - exuding bonhomie and charisma. And, although she almost knocked her own hat off when giving her first royal flutter as she emerged from the Register Office at Windsor, she has been waving to the manner born ever since. No doubt she follows the late Queen Mother's immortal advice, "Imagine one is cleaning a window, dear" - the most splendid and definitive instruction ever uttered on the topic, gleaned, presumably, from shrewd observation rather than experience.
In June she pulled a fast one. She travelled with the hugely popular Prince William to Trooping The Colour - an annual military parade for the sovereign - in an open carriage from Buckingham Palace and the crowds almost lost the run of themselves cheering. And, of course, wasn't the whole world and his wife at the event? So that was one in the eye for Cherie and the other big Socialist Mommas of New Labour.
Later she appeared on the famous balcony for her first appearance on the biggest stage of all. The band of the Irish Guards might just as well have broken into "Consider yourself at home, Consider yourself one of the family".
By the time she visited a London hospital to meet victims of the July 7th bombings - after only three months into the job - and said that the courage she'd seen on display made her "proud to be British" there wasn't a dry eye in the kingdom.
To cap it all, Prince Harry has now described her as a "wonderful woman", revealed that he and his brother "love her to bits" and said "she's made our father very happy". There's no arguing with that.
Meanwhile she and Charles have moved into the Queen Mother's old home, Clarence House in central London. Despite its £4 million refurbishment, Charles, who was awfully fond of his granny, has apparently insisted on maintaining much of the grande dame's décor and objets d'art. What new wife wants to be surrounded by another woman's stuff? Still, the house has one big advantage. It is just a short distance - the length of a few strands of pearls - from the Big House. Which is handy if you're trying to measure it up for new curtains. And my, doesn't Buckingham Palace have lots of windows?