During a Wednesday visit to the newly opened Royal Osteoporosis Society headquarters, Queen Consort Camilla discussed a matter close to her heart.
The Queen joined a reception with chosen guests to honor the efforts of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Her mother died of the disease in 1994 at the age of 71, thus, charity is very important to her.
Camilla’s grandmother died of the disease in 1986.
In a 2021 interview with Gloria Hunniford for the BBC to honor World Osteoporosis Day, the Queen Consort Camilla recalled the most touching recollections of her mother’s battle with osteoporosis.
She remembered a friend of hers entering the building to hug her, breaking one of her ribs in the process. That is how bad it was.
Camilla described her late mother, Rosalind Shand’s purported age-related flaws. “I suppose my mother visited almost everyone you could think of, and they all apologized for her age by saying, ‘Sorry, you’re old.’” We just saw her shrivel away in front of us,” she spoke.
Camilla and her family were also affected by the sickness. “It was terrible,” she remarked. “Because we were unaware of the issue, we thought at one point, ‘Well, is she making a big deal out of all of this?’”
“Sometimes when she moved, or you touched her, she truly screamed,” Camilla continued, revealing how bad her mother’s health was.
Camilla has worked hard since then to raise awareness of the disease and is now a Royal Osteoporosis Society ambassador.
She believes that education is critical. We all believe we are immortal when we are young, don’t we? “I believe that I would want to see more young people educated. I’d like to see more young people understand it rather than simply thinking, ‘Poor old bats, that’s what will happen to us when we get old,’ you know.”
Gloria questioned Camilla if she was worried about her family’s future. “I feel my daughter’s generation is receptive,” she remarked. “I’d show photos of my mum before and after her osteoporosis diagnosis. I’d make them look at photographs and tell them, ‘Look, that’s what’s going to happen to you if you don’t take care.’”
