- Camilla became an orphan after the dad, Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand 89, died on June 11, 2006, at his home in Dorset.
- Before King Charles III, the Queen was previously married to Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles but later divorced in 1995.
Image: GETTY IMAGES
King Charles III and Queen Camilla landed in Nairobi a few minutes before 11 pm on Monday night.
The royal couple will be in Kenya for a four-day state visit which officially starts on Tuesday, October 31.
This will be the Queen's first visit to Kenya.
Camilla Rosemary Shand was born on July 17, 1947, at King’s College Hospital London.
Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand and Hon Rosalind Maud Shand (nee Cubitt) were her parents.
The Queen, has two siblings, a sister, Annabel Elliot, and a brother, Mark Shand. Mark Shand, a conservationist, however, died on April 23, 2014.
The Shand family lived in East Sussex from 1951 onwards. Major Shand, MC and Bar, was Vice Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex and Master of the South Downs Hounds for 19 years.
However, Camilla became an orphan after the dad, Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand 89, died on June 11, 2006, at his home in Dorset.
Her mother, Rosalind Maud Shand (nee Cubitt) 72, succumbed to osteoporosis in 1994.
Queen's grandmother had died from the same condition eight years earlier.
Since 1994, Camilla started supporting the Royal Osteoporosis Society charity and has served as its President since 1994.
For her education, Queen Camilla at first attended Dumbrells School, in Sussex, and then at Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington.
She also attended Mon Fertile School in Switzerland and studied at the Institut Britannique in Paris.
Before King Charles III, the Queen was previously married to Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles but later divorced in 1995.
They had two children, Thomas Henry and Laura Rose, born in 1974 and 1978 respectively.
However, on April 9, 2005, The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III ) and Camilla got married in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor.
Around 800 guests attended a Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The Service was followed by a reception at Windsor Castle hosted by the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Since her marriage to The King in 2005, Camilla become a Patron of over 90 charities.
The Queen’s charity work is varied but several themes prevail: health and well-being, promoting literacy, the arts, animal welfare and supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault.
Camilla supports her husband in carrying out his work and duties.
The Queen also undertakes public engagements on behalf of the charities that she supports.
Image: HANDOUT
On May 6, 2023, she was crowned Queen Camilla after the coronation of King Charles III. It was the first coronation in seven decades.
In Kenya, King Charles III and Queen Camilla's visit is aimed at celebrating the warm relationship between the two countries and the strong and dynamic partnership they continue to forge.
The King and Queen will visit Nairobi and Mombasa Counties, and surrounding areas.
Their program will reflect on how Kenya and the United Kingdom are working together to boost mutual prosperity, tackle climate change, promote youth opportunity and employment, advance sustainable development, and create a more stable and secure region.
During the visit, the King and Queen will meet President William Ruto and the First Lady and other members of the Kenyan Government, UN staff, CEOs, faith leaders, young people, future leaders, and Kenyan Marines training with UK Royal Marines.
The King will also attend an event to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate the late Professor Wangari Maathai, together with Wangari’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai.
The visit will acknowledge the more painful aspects of the UK and Kenya’s shared history, including the Emergency (1952-1960).
The King will take time during the visit to deepen his understanding of the wrongs suffered in this period by the people of Kenya.
Together, the King and Queen will tour a new museum dedicated to Kenya’s history and will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Uhuru Gardens, as well as visit the site of the declaration of Kenya’s independence in 1963.