5 Times Queen Camilla Proved She's The Funniest Of The Royal Bunch

For years, Queen Camilla endured criticism for being the third party in her now-husband King Charles III's marriage to Princess Diana. Though Diana and Charles eventually divorced and moved on with their lives, Camilla's reputation as a mistress stuck even after the death of the People's Princess in 1997, and she continued to be compared to Prince William and Prince Harry's mother in the decades that followed. However, slowly but surely, Camilla overhauled her public image by diligently fulfilling her duties as a member of the royal family and remaining loyal and loving to Charles.

But there's another, less-talked-about reason that the queen consort won people over — her amazing sense of humor. Camilla has proven she can not only take a joke but also crack them, often including at least one or two quips in her speeches. While speaking to British elementary school students about the joys of reading in 2020, she quipped, "Books can take you anywhere — a bit like stepping into your very own Tardis. You can play Quidditch with Harry Potter, win the golden ticket to Charlie's Chocolate Factory, go on a secret mission with Alex Rider, or, if you are like me, become a Gangsta Granny and plot to steal the Crown Jewels," referencing a book by David Walliams (via Express).

Many have praised Camilla for her sense of humor, including Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who got to witness it for himself during a visit to Balmoral in Scotland. According to royal biographer Robert Hardman's book "Charles III: New King. New Court," Sunak reportedly enthused, "She's uproariously funny." And that was far from the only time that Camilla has shown she's the funniest of the royal bunch.

Queen Camilla proved that loving Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy and his iconic "wet shirt" scene in the 1995 BBC adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" is universal during a 2022 visit to Jane Austen's England home, which has been converted into a museum. The royal was given a tour of the establishment by museum director Lizzie Dunford, and one of the highlights involved viewing a collection of Regency undergarments — which included the white linen shirt worn by Firth's Mr. Darcy when he went for an impromptu swim in a lake and had Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle) and viewers alike swooning.

After learning that it was Firth's actual shirt, Camilla couldn't help but crack a saucy joke, telling Dunford, "But he's not in it, that's a bit sad," according to a video shared by the Royal Family Channel on YouTube. The museum director jokingly responded "I know, that's sad, and it's not quite as damp as it was [in the BBC series]," to which the royal suggested, "You could give it a good spray," causing Dunford to burst into laughter. But though she's a fan of Mr. Darcy, he wasn't the "Pride and Prejudice" character Camilla named when asked about her dream dinner party guests just days before her museum visit. 

In a video for her book club members, the queen consort revealed that she would ideally want to dine with the Count of Monte Cristo, Mrs. Danvers from the novel "Rebecca," Count Fosco from "The Woman in White," and one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth Bennet. "Just a good strong woman to keep the show on the road, so to speak," Camilla explained (via Hello! magazine).

Since the premiere of Netflix's "The Crown," rumors have surfaced that certain members of the British royal family are unhappy with their portrayals in the hit historical drama, which has branded itself a "fictional dramatization," according to its Netflix description. King Charles III seemingly hinted at his feelings about the series while speaking to members of Parliament in 2021. As Scottish politician Anas Sarwar recalled, "[Charles] came over and went, 'Hello, nice to meet you all. I'm nowhere near how they portray me on Netflix,'" per the Daily Mail. The king's wife, however, reportedly enjoys the show a lot more than her husband does. 

As an insider dished to Vanity Fair in 2020, "I imagine [Camilla will] be tuning in with a glass of red wine to watch it, she has seen the previous series. She has a wonderful sense of humor, and this won't fuss her in the slightest." The queen consort has never come out and said she's a fan of "The Crown," but during a 2022 event, she had no problem getting along with Emerald Fennell, the actor who played her younger self in the series. 

While giving a speech at a Clarence House reception, Camilla joked, "It is reassuring to know that, if I should fall off my perch at any moment, my fictional alter ego is here to take over," sparking laughter from the gathered crowd. "So, Emerald, be prepared!" she added, per The Guardian. Fennell also got an opportunity to speak to the royal one-on-one, and though she did not share the specifics of their conversation, the "Saltburn" director was evidently impressed, describing it as "absolutely delightful."

Throughout their relationship, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla have been photographed or filmed sharing a laugh many times over, even when the occasion isn't quite appropriate for it. For example, in 2017, the royal couple was left in stitches by a throat-singing performance by Inuit artists during a visit to Canada. Footage from the event showed Charles and Camilla doing their best to hide their laughter, but they ultimately couldn't help but break royal protocol as they watched the performance (via YouTube). 

But Charles and Camilla don't just laugh together; they also poke fun at and laugh at each other. For instance, during a women's forum event in Samoa in October 2024, the queen consort joked about her husband's diligence when it came to his royal duties. "Although they started at the same time, the women finished their side first, as they had labored through the night, while the men slept," she said referring to a local legend about men and women who thatched the roof of the home of a Samoan chief, per The Independent. 

She then quipped, "As one whose husband is often toiling into the small hours, long after my head is on the pillow, I should stress there are plenty of exceptions!" Charles also doesn't shy away from cracking jokes about his wife either. Earlier that March, he gave a cheeky response after a well-wisher told him about her dog, which was named after the queen consort. "Your Majesty, Camilla is 17 now, my King Charles Spaniel," the woman said (via The Independent), to which Charles replied, "I would get a new one as well."

King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned in a historic coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London in May 2023. But apparently, Camilla might have preferred simply enjoying the festivities as an onlooker over being coronated alongside her husband. According to royal expert Robert Hardman's book, "Charles III: New King. New Court," the queen consort made a hilarious quip while she and Charles were rehearsing with the archbishop of Canterbury in preparation for the coronation ceremony. 

At one point, he reportedly told Charles, "If you don't say anything, if you don't nod or indicate, Sir, I can't crown Her Majesty." Camilla then chimed in, "Don't bother! I'm very happy," (via the Daily Mail). Long before that, though, she made another queen laugh with her antics, though this one wasn't quite planned. In a video tribute following Queen Elizabeth II's heartbreaking death in September 2022, Camilla recalled her late mother-in-law laughing after realizing that she had accidentally worn two different shoes to Camilla's 2005 wedding to Charles. 

"For some unknown reason, I put on a pair of shoes, and one had an inch heel and one had a two-inch heel" the queen consort shared, per the BBC. "I was halfway down in the car before I realized... [The queen] could see and laughed about it and just said, 'Look, I'm terribly sorry.' [She had] a good sense of humor." While it wasn't the only thing that went wrong at Charles and Camilla's wedding, it was certainly the funniest.

It's not just King Charles III who has been spotted cracking up alongside Queen Camilla over the years; she's also been photographed having a chuckle with her stepson, Prince William. While royal experts have long claimed that William had a frosty relationship with Camilla in his younger years, the two looked like partners in crime as they sat together during the Invictus Games opening ceremony in London in 2014. At one point during the event, the future king chatted with his stepmother and the topic had the two of them laughing so hard that Camilla had to wipe tears from her eyes.

Likewise, during an event at the French National Library in 2023, the queen consort also got French President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte Macron to break the universal library rule of maintaining a respectful silence. Reporters' cameras captured the two powerful women struggling to keep a straight face while posing for photos together. The public wasn't privy to the inside joke, but it was apparently funny enough that Brigitte had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep herself from bursting into laughter. On the other hand, right beside her, Camilla appeared to have no problem showing off her wide grin.

If there's one person who knows better than even Charles just how contagious the queen consort's laugh is, it's her sister, Annabel Elliot. According to "Charles III: New King. New Court," the lively duo would set each other off so easily that they had to be seated far away from each other during church services when they were kids. "One of us would start to laugh — disastrous," Annabel shared (via the Daily Mail).