Camilla – walking a tightrope

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is not well-designed to be out on a glittering stage with her Cancer Sun, Mercury, Venus and Moon all in the 12^th and trine a 4^th house Jupiter in Scorpio. Happiest out of sight, behind the scenes or pottering about at home with her children and grandchildren, she is however well-suited to a husband who prickles if anyone else encroaches on his spotlight.

Born 17 July 1947 7.10am (biography) London, she has a defensive persona with the tough Saturn Pluto in Leo just below her Ascendant, doubly emphasised being on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Mars in Gemini trine Neptune. Saturn Pluto types tend to attract strong reactions – Hillary Clinton, Liz Greene to name but two. People are either for or against them.

Life came easily to her with a comfortable, wealthy, well-connected childhood family. Despite a fling with Prince Charles, who according to reports was dithering and would anyway have been under pressure not to consider a non-virgin as wife, she married the catch-of-the-season Andrew Parker Bowles. He is a Capricorn with a Cancer Moon and his Venus was conjunct her Descendant opposition Pluto on her Ascendant, so there would be a strong attraction; though he was a womaniser.

Quite when she picked up again with Prince Charles prior to or after his marriage isn’t clear since Diana fans and Diana herself were determined to paint the worst possible picture. I’d also enter a caveat that there is no sense in applying middle-class morals to the aristos and county set since they always lived by different rules. ‘Produce the heir and spare and then suit yourself’ seemed to be the accepted rule of thumb.

What is clear is that Camilla put him back together when he was at his nadir over the breakdown of his marriage. Her Jupiter is conjunct his 4^th house Sun; and her four Cancer planets fall in his 12^th – so a behind-the-scenes support, and she’ll be a good listener with those 12^th house planets. Curiously Camilla’s Aries midheaven is within a degree as Charles’ so they share the same trajectory.

Diana, on the other hand, had her angry Mars Pluto in Virgo conjunct Charles’ Saturn and trine his Taurus Moon which is not a good mix; and their relationship chart had an outdoing-each-other-for-attention Mars Neptune conjunction, which proved more than problematic.

Camilla’s relationship with Charles isn’t that easy. On the upside there’s a composite Moon opposition Jupiter square Mercury, so good communication and mutual support. But the Sun is in an argumentative opposition to Mars; and Venus is in a cool conjunction to Saturn.

Diana and Camilla, not surprisingly had difficult crossovers in their charts. Camilla’s Saturn Pluto fell in Diana’s 8^th making Diana feel trapped; with Diana’s Saturn opposition Camilla’s Sun, blocking the other way; and Diana’s Pluto was square Camilla’s Mars for outright hostility.

Camilla will be under pressure in 2019/2020 with tr Pluto square her Sun; with major changes (birth time being accurate) in 2020/21 as her Solar Arc MC is conjunct her Uranus, and tr Uranus squares first her Ascendant, then Saturn and then her Pluto. So quite an upheaval.