Former Royal Staffers Reflect on How King Charles Will "Spoil" Queen Camilla on Her Birthday

King Charles clapping and smiling at Queen Camilla, who is dressed in a blue dress — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Queen Camilla has plenty to celebrate as she marks her 78th birthday on Thursday, July 17. The Queen just became the first-ever woman and first member of the Royal Family to be appointed as Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom, and she also spent July 14 at one of her favorite organizations, the Battersea Dogs Cats Home. The Royal Family released a new photo of The Queen with her new rescue puppy, Moley, as well as two other snapshots of Her Majesty to mark her birthday. Now, two of the family's former staffers are also weighing in on how King Charles and Queen Camilla might have spent the day.

Speaking on behalf of Slingo, former royal butler Paul Burrell—who worked for both Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth— said, "I think privately, The King will give her a party at Clarence House or Birkhall and they'll have people go up to Scotland." He added, "Everything will be behind closed doors," but suggested that if they were in London and went out to dinner, the couple would go to one of their favorite places, The Ritz.

"They like dining out, but why dine out when you have a fantastic chef at home?" Burrell continued. Speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, former royal gardener Jack Stooks agreed that Camilla was more likely to have a party at home.

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Queen Camilla wearing a blue dress holding her puppy, Moley, in a garden — Queen Camilla, pictured with her puppy, Moley, celebrated her 78th birthday on July 17.

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"With Camilla’s birthday, she is quite a home and family-orientated person," Stooks said, calling The Queen "a great cook." He added, "A perfect birthday for her would be having her children and rest of her family around, and her husband."

When it comes to presents, Burrell suggested The King will have "something special" up his sleeve. "He likes to give her jewelry," the former butler said. "He's very spoiling, the King, and he will make sure that all attention is on Camilla," Burrell said. "He likes to remind her that she's Queen."

Stooks said that while the Royal Family doesn't "like extravagant gifts" and are "quite low-key," Queen Camilla "will probably be given just some jewelry from Charles." However, he also suggested Camilla would enjoy "something nice for her garden at Raymill, like a nice tree or a shrub."

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Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.