Duchess of Cornwall reveals Prince Charles is ‘the fittest man she knows of his age’

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The Duchess of Cornwall will discuss life in lockdown, missing her grandchildren and how Charles is the fittest man she knows for his age in an upcoming radio interview.

Camilla, 72, is due to cover a wide range of topics as she undertakes her first-ever radio guest edit on BBC Radio 5 Live’s The Emma Barnett Show on Tuesday.

The duchess will say how her husband, the Prince of Wales, remains in good shape despite suffering from Covid-19 earlier this year.

In a pre-recorded segment of the show, Camilla will say: ‘He is probably the fittest man of his age I know. He’ll walk and walk and walk. He’s like a mountain goat, he leaves everybody miles behind.’ 

The duchess will also talk about missing her grandchildren during lockdown and how she ‘shall look forward to the day’ she can hug them.

‘You’re so excited because you haven’t seen them for three-and-a-half months … Your first reaction is to run up and hug them, and you have to sort of put up your hands. It’s a very odd feeling,’ she will say.

On the topic of the coronavirus lockdown, Camilla will talk about her love of jeans and how she has familiarised herself with online video conference calling.

She will say: ‘I’m ashamed to say that I really hated the internet. I didn’t understand it and I thought, “What’s the point of this?”.

‘Since lockdown, it’s been so brilliant because I’ve been able to communicate with family, my children, my friends.

‘But it’s also taught children … otherwise children who aren’t at school what would they have done without it?’

Her radio feature will also cover domestic violence, her passion to raise awareness about the issue and her involvement with the charity SafeLives.

Speaking about how she became involved with the domestic abuse charity, Camilla will recall hearing a story about a man who used a hammer to kill his wife.

‘I don’t think any of us could believe what we were hearing. I could feel the tears starting to drip down my face,’ the duchess says.

‘It was so moving and so horrific that afterwards, I met her mother, a grandmother who had taken charge of the children.

‘I just remember saying to her that ‘I don’t know what I can do, but if there’s anything, I promise you, I’ll try and find a way’. That’s really how it began.’

Prince Charles previously said that contracting coronavirus was ‘one of the best things that could have happened’ because it’s made him more empathetic and boosted his social media following  

The royal has said he was ‘lucky’ to have experienced ‘relatively mild symptoms’ of Covid-19 after testing positive in March.

He was diagnosed as having Covid-19 following a test on the NHS in Aberdeenshire. 

Last month he opened up about his brush with the deadly infection in an interview with Sky News for their series After The Pandemic: Our New World. He told royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills: ‘I was lucky in my case and got away with it quite lightly. But I’ve had it, and I can so understand what other people have gone through.’

Fortunately, he only suffered what were described as ‘mild’ symptoms and carried on working throughout.

Royal sources said the prince was in ‘good health’ throughout his illness and his self-isolation lasted seven days ‘in accordance with government and medical guidelines’.

Despite the mild nature of his brush with the virus, Prince Charles revealed that it has helped him empathise with others throughout the pandemic.

He explained: ‘I can’t tell you how much I sympathise with the way that everyone has had to endure with this unbelievably testing and challenging time.

He added: ‘I feel particularly for those who have lost their loved ones and have been unable to be with them at the time. That to me is the most ghastly thing.’ 

At the time, Camilla completed a fortnight in isolation at the couple’s Scottish residence of Birkhall, with each of them residing in different parts of the 305-year-old property, before they reunited in April.

The Daily Mail also revealed how Camilla had become  an avid user of the Houseparty video chat program that lets up to eight users enjoy a simultaneous catch-up. 

It is understood Camilla is desperately missed her children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, who themselves have five children between them, during lockdown.

Royal biographer Penny Juror told The Sunday Times Prince Charles’ battle with the virus means he is now ‘able to understand people going through terrible times’ and ‘show leadership’.

‘That he caught the virus is one of the best things that could have happened,’ she said.

‘It echoes the Queen Mother and King George VI being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the public during the Second World War after Buckingham Palace was bombed.’

She added that more people have ‘seen and listened’ to Charles during lockdown – and that he has used his platform well throughout the pandemic.

The Emma Barnett Show is on BBC Radio 5 Live every Monday to Thursday between 10am and 1pm.

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