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Camilla Opens Up About the Hardest Part of Self-Isolating During the Coronavirus Crisis

Photo credit: Clarence House
Photo credit: Clarence House

From Town & Country

The Duchess of Cornwall spent 14 days in isolation after her husband Prince Charles was diagnosed with coronavirus. But today she is back to work and, like many of us, is getting used to working from home.

Clarence House has released a photograph of Camilla taken at Birkhall, in Scotland, where she and Charles are staying for the duration of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown measures. Taken to highlight the Royal Voluntary Service's "Check in and Chat" initiative, it shows the Duchess on the phone with 85-year-old Doris Winfield who has also spent the past two weeks self-isolating.

Sitting at her cozy-looking wooden desk with a bookcase covered with family photographs in the background, Camilla told Doris that the most difficult thing about being in isolation was not being able to hug her grandchildren. The Duchess has five grandchildren from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles: Gus, Louis, and Eliza Lopes. and Lola and Freddy Parker Bowles. One of her granddaughters, Eliza Lopes, was a bridesmaid in William and Kate’s 2011 wedding.

Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images
Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images

Camilla and Doris, who lives in Rickmansworth just outside of London, talked about how difficult it was being separated from family during the coronavirus crisis but that being able to see them digitally helped. Doris has three daughters, but lives alone and misses her friends and social life.

“Having a chat with the HRH The Duchess of Cornwall meant the world to me. I’ve been incredibly lonely over the last couple of weeks and it was wonderful to talk to her,” Doris said in a statement released by Clarence House.

“We talked about life in isolation and shared hobbies, she was very interested in my family and how I was coping without them. It’s really cheered me up!” she continued.

Camilla made the call in her capacity as President of the Royal Voluntary Service, a role she has held since 2012. The organization has been working with the NHS to recruit people in England who can assist those in need with practical and emotional support.

The Duchess also sent a message of thanks to the charity. “I wanted to send my warmest thanks to all the NHS Volunteer Responders who have come forward in unprecedented numbers to offer help to the NHS,” she said.

“Everyone working in the NHS is under unimaginable pressure day and night in this crisis. I feel sure that the presence of so many wonderful volunteers will encourage, as well as support, them. I salute each one of you—and thank you with all my heart.”

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