Duchess Camilla and Prince Charles, who practised self-isolation for two weeks in separate parts of their Birkhall residence in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, were reunited just three days before their 15th wedding anniversary on Thursday. The couple was separated as a precaution after the Prince of Wales was tested positive for novel coronavirus.
After returning from isolation, the duchess has been carrying out a work from home routine from her study, as revealed in a picture shared by her and Charles’s office Clarence House on Monday, reports People.
In an accompanying statement, the office revealed that the royal held a telephonic conversation with Doris Winfield, an elderly woman from Rickmansworth, England, who has also been self-isolating for the same time period due to the pandemic. The call was made by Camilla in her role as President of The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS).
The 85-year-old woman, a mother-of-three, told Camilla how difficult it was being separated from family but that being able to see them virtually eased the pain. The Duchess also said that being away from her grandchildren and nor being able to hug them was the worst part of her self-isolation period as well. The royal revealed that she has been using the Houseparty app to connect with her five grandkids and two children- Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles, whom she shares with ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
Camilla and Doris also discussed how reading books helped them pass the time, particularly those by crime writer Agatha Christie. The duchess’s love for fiction novels could be seen in the picture of her cozy home office at Birkhall. The shelf behind her desk boasted a huge collection of reading material.
Apart from books by crime and thriller writer Peter James, the shelf carried “H is for Hawk,” an award-winning memoir by Helen Macdonald about the year she spent training a northern goshawk. The royal, who has previously expressed her admiration for JK Rowling’s work, kept several Harry Potter books as well as Rowling’s adult novel “The Casual Vacancy.”
Apart from the novels, the bookshelves included pictures of her grandchildren, some older black-and-white images of her family and a painted dog portrait. But what stole the spotlight was paper cutout dolls of the British royal family, propped up against the dog portrait. The figures show Queen Elizabeth II standing between a paper Prince Charlotte and a Prince George waving the UK flag. There are cutouts of Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton and Camilla herself.