MISTRESS TO MAJESTY

We uncover 10 surprising secrets about Queen Camilla

1 SHE INHERITED THE QUEEN'S ROYAL JEWELS 

When she passed, Queen Elizabeth II left the then-Duchess of Cornwall the key to a vault of the royal family's riches worth an estimated - and eye-watering! - $9 billion.

The treasure trove, which is said to be the largest collection of jewellery in the world, includes the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond, a Belgian sapphire necklace Elizabeth received from her father and a tiara that the late Queen bought herself.

"[Camilla] will need a large collection to support her constitutional role," explains royal expert Ingrid Seward.

2 HER FIRST HUSBAND WAS FORCED TO PROPOSE!

Before Camilla's longtime beau Andrew Parker Bowles had a chance to pop the question, his impatient father Derek put a wedding announcement in the paper in 1973 while Camilla's new friend Charles was overseas on naval duties. "His hand publicly forced, Andrew proposed to his girlfriend of nearly seven years," claims royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith of the couple, who had started dating in the late 1960s and were on-and-off for years before they wed.

3 PARTIAL TO A CIGARETTE

Camilla, 75, smoked for 30 years before quitting in 2001 with the help of health guru Dr Mosaraf Ali. When she was in the midst of what Charles calls a "filthy habit", author Brian Hoey claims Camilla ordered staff to place silver cigarette boxes everywhere. "And the moment she leaves the room - even if just for a few minutes - a footman makes sure the ashtrays are emptied," he claimed.