Queen Camilla took a trip down a heartbreaking memory lane.
On Wednesday, July 15, the British Queen Consort marked the milestone 40th anniversary of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, during which she delivered an emotional speech, recalling her mother’s suffering and how she died.
King Charles’s wife welcomed guests to Clarence House for a special reception celebrating four decades of the organization and opened up on how it holds particular personal significance for her.
For those unfamiliar, Camilla became patron of the organization, then known as the National Osteoporosis Society, in 1994, the same year her mother died from the condition.
In her emotional address, the Queen said, "As some of you may know, the then-N.O.S. was the first charity that I became Patron of back in 1994. That same year, my dear mother had died as a result of osteoporosis."
Calling the disease “a silent thief hiding in plain sight,” Her Majesty noted that it causes damage deep within the body before visible symptoms.
“My family and I had little, or no, understanding of this devastating disease and were determined to discover more about it. We failed to comprehend how our mother could suffer so much pain, lose inches in height and yet find no available treatment from the doctors,” she stated.
Camilla continued, “The terrible problem being that osteoporosis is a silent thief hiding in plain sight. It wreaks its havoc deep inside our bodies until, too late, we realise that the damage has been done."
Queen Camilla and the Royal Osteoporosis Society
Queen Camilla has supported the Royal Osteoporosis Society since 1994 and served as its President since 2001.
Over the years, the 78-year-old Royal has met charity representatives, ambassadors and beneficiaries whose lives had been touched by the organization’s work.
