The Yours Members site has all the latest from the magazine, including exclusive celebrity interviews like this chat with Royal friend Gyles Brandreth, who talks to Yours about our modern monarchy and why he thinks it will survive...
When Queen Camilla was caught on camera greeting her chums with a kiss as they curtsied, she naturally made tabloid headlines. Imagine this sort of modern behaviour from a reigning Queen of England! It wouldn’t have happened in our late Queen Elizabeth’s day, according to writer and raconteur Gyles Brandreth (75) who was on the receiving end of Camilla’s affectionate cheek pecks along with Dames Judi Dench and Joanna Lumley at Hampton Court.
Lucky enough to have spent time with both queens, Gyles says of Queen Camilla’s kissing: “Ah well, she’s very, very
friendly. She’s lovely and a very natural, easy person to be with.”
While he holds Queen Elizabeth II, the subject of one of his books, in the highest esteem, he adds: “There was always an invisible moat around the late queen. She was Elizabeth II and nobody treated her entirely normally except for the Duke of Edinburgh.”
Gyles, who’s been regularly crossing paths with Charles and Camilla at recent events, also reveals: “I’ve seen Camilla tugging the back of Charles’ jacket telling him it’s time to go. She’s actually very good at discreetly keeping him under control!
"I can only say nice things about Camilla. It's a very good partnership," adds Gyles.
Gyles is speaking to Yours as a long‐standing supporter of Marie Curie, the end‐of‐life charity whose patron for many years was the King. Like Charles and Gyles, the charity is celebrating its 75th year.
“This is a great year for a great vintage: 1948. The year when so many exciting things happened!” jokes Gyles.
But behind all the happy chappiness we see on shows such as Celebrity Gogglebox, Gyles has a serious reason for supporting Marie Curie’s work.
“Cancer has sadly been part of my family in different ways for very many years. My father died of cancer aged only 71 and my youngest sister, Hester, died of cancer aged 61. So I know from experience what the Marie Curie nurses can do. It’s a great cause,” he says.
Read more about Gyles' family and Royal connections in the full article on the Yours Members site.
Over the past 75 years Marie Curie has been there for millions of people affected by terminal illness, bereavement and grief. Today, support is more needed than ever. To help ensure a future where everyone gets the best possible end-of-life care head to mariecurie.org.uk/donate