Queen Camilla's tribute to Jeffrey Archer after his death highlights a special quality in King Charles's wife, a senior royal correspondent has said. The Queen expressed her sadness at the death of Lord Archer on Tuesday, describing him as "not without flaw" but an "irrepressible life force through all the many differing chapters of his life".
Her statement came after the former Conservative MP turned bestselling writer, who was imprisoned for perjury and perverting the course of justice in 2001, died suddenly on Monday aged 86.
Debate over the tribute
Whether Camilla ought to have paid tribute to Lord Archer was a focus for discussion on the Daily Mail's podcast, Palace Confidential, on Thursday (October 8). Diary editor, Richard Eden, suggested it may not have been appropriate given Lord Archer's chequered past, describing the late peer as being of "questionable character".
He said that when he read the statement, he "sort of felt a shudder", adding it had reminded him of the time when the then Prince Charles paid "fulsome" praise to Jimmy Saville. This was before paedophile Saville was exposed as one of the country's most prolific sexual predators.
Defence from fellow guest
Fellow guest, Rebecca English, leapt to the Queen's defence, telling Palace Confidential she felt both surprised and not surprised at the Archer tribute as he had done much to support Camilla's literacy project, The Queen's Reading Room. She added: "The one thing I've learnt about Queen Camilla is that she's quite accepting of people's faults. I think it's the kind of attitude that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
Ms English then shared an anecdote in which Princess Catherine's "naughty" maternal uncle, Gary Goldsmith, met Camilla at an event. Mr Goldsmith has made headlines in the past by discussing his niece's health, marriage and brother-in-law, Prince Harry. He later issued a public apology.
Anecdote and changing approach
The senior royal correspondent relayed how Mr Goldsmith was invited to a function where he spoke to Camilla, who was then the Duchess of Cornwall. Ms English recounted that he told Camilla that "maybe" she would not want to be seen speaking to him. To which Camilla is said to have told him not to worry and that they have all had similar brushes with adverse publicity. Ms English added: "I kind of admire that slightly."
Viewers also heard how King Charles and Queen Camilla's approach to making statements when a prominent figure dies varies to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who rarely issued public tributes. Ms English suggested Charles and Camilla have moved with the times, being more open to paying homage.
Camilla's message
Camilla, in her message of condolence as founder of the Queen's Reading Room charity, of which Lord Archer was a supporter, said that "wherever the next page turns to", she wished him "champagne and shepherd's pie in abundance" – a nod to the parties he used to host.
Lord Archer had a successful career as a novelist alongside politics and was made a life peer in 1992 as Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, becoming the Conservatives' choice to fight for the party in the first London mayoral election. His campaign ended when his political career crashed in 2001 when he was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
Camilla said: "Seldom does an author get to live a life as rich, varied and colourful as any of the characters in their books, or with as many surprising plot twists. Jeffrey Archer was an exception to the end. It was therefore with sadness that I learned of his death yesterday, on the eve of publication of his final work and so soon after appearing at my Queen's Reading Room Festival. My sympathies go to Mary and the family at this time of sorrow. I hope it may be some consolation for them to know what pleasure Jeffrey brought to me and to so many millions of readers through the pages of his works. While he was not without flaw, his friends will recall him as an irrepressible life force through all the many differing chapters of his life. Wherever the next page turns to, I trust there will be champagne and shepherd's pie in abundance."
The message ended "Camilla R". Although the Queen and Lord Archer were not close personal friends, he used to send Camilla a personally inscribed pre-publication copy of all of his new novels. He died the day before the publication of what he previously described as his final book – Adam & Eve, a historical fiction novel set during the Second World War. Camilla had already received a special edition of the work and is said to have "much enjoyed" reading it over the summer. Just a few weeks ago, Lord Archer took part in The Queen's Reading Room Festival at Chatsworth in Derbyshire as one of the headline speakers.
