Duchess Camilla met Emerald Fennell, who played Camilla in The Crown
Don’t get me wrong, The Crown has done very real damage to the Windsor clan. Especially Season 4, which served as a huge reminder of just how the institution completely mistreated a young woman in her late teens and early 20s. It was especially horrible for Prince Charles and Camilla, both of whom looked callous and cruel (because they were). But, on the other side… it could have been a lot worse. A LOT worse. If anything, I think Charles should be flattered that Josh O’Connor imbued Charles with so much posh pathos, and O’Connor was definitely flatteringly handsome in the role. So too with Emerald Fennell’s portrayal of then-Camilla Shand/Camilla Parker Bowles. Emerald has big, boozy, blousy, sassy blonde energy and she’s immensely likable. How many people were more interested in Camilla after watching Emerald play her?
I bring all of this up because Camilla met Emerald. It happened on Tuesday, International Women’s Day, at Clarence House. Camilla hosted a reception for The WOW Foundation, which runs the Women of the World Festival, and Emerald is part of it or adjacent to it somehow, I’m not entirely clear. To be fair, Camilla has handled The Crown the best out of all the royals. When Charles, William and the Queen’s courtiers were banging their heads against the wall and wailing about Netflix, Peter Morgan and, as always, Prince Harry, the Duchess of Cornwall kept her mouth shut because she remembers all of the f–king awful sh-t that went down and she knows that Peter Morgan is soft pedaling it. Plus, she probably sees Emerald as a potential drinking buddy. So Camilla was gracious meeting Emerald and Emerald was likewise gracious meeting Camilla.
The two women happily chatted, shared a few laughs and posed together for a photo.
“It was particularly nice to meet her today on International Women’s Day because, you know, she does so much for so many particularly female charities,” the actress told journalist Georgie Prodromou. Fennell, 36, then quipped, “I was nervous I might be thrown in the Tower — but so far, so good.”
Although Fennell wouldn’t share exactly what they spoke about, she was full of praise for Camilla. “She’s been in the spotlight for a long time and has always weathered it with grace,” the actress said.
Camilla, 74, also mentioned Fennell in a light-hearted moment that got lots of laughs during her speech at the reception. “For me, it’s very reassuring to know that if I should fall off my perch at any moment, my fictional alter ego is here to take over,” she said to laughs from the crowd gathered. “So, Emerald — be prepared!”
It’s fine. I’m not mad at either of them. It was probably awkward, but maybe not. Emerald has said that when the casting call went out for The Crown’s Season 3 and 4, every British blonde was trying to get in the room to be cast as Diana, but Emerald told her agent to get her an audition for Camilla. Emerald wanted to play Cam, is my point. And I do think the casting was good! Incidentally, the way Josh O’Connor sounds, I don’t think he wants to meet Charles.
GAH EMERALD’S PURSE I NEED IT.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 08: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall during a meeting with Team ExtraOARdinary at Clarence House on March 08, 2022 in London, England. Team ExtraOARdinary rowed their 23-foot boat ‚ÄúDolly Parton‚Äů 3,000 miles from La Gomera in the Canaries to English Harbour in Antigua in 42 days, seven hours and 17 minutes to raise money for cancer charities Macmillan, Cancer Research UK and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.,Image: 667139122, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon 
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