Queen Camilla to feature in new crime novel
The 77-year-old royal is an avid reader and a particular fan of Peter James' Detective Superintendent Roy Grace thrillers, and his latest book, 'The Hawk is Dead', takes his investigation into Buckingham Palace when the royal train which Camilla is travelling on derails and a key member of her staff is shot by a sniper.
A source told MailOnline: 'Opening with a cinematic derailment of the royal train, 'The Hawk Is Dead' takes Roy Grace deep into the heart of Buckingham Palace, where he is called upon to solve a murder and what looks to be a royal assassination attempt.
'Queen Camilla, a well-known book-lover and reading champion through her charity, The Queen's Reading Room, has always been one of the first people to receive each Grace novel and is excited to have a starring role, alongside His Majesty King Charles, in Peter's latest thriller.'
According to the outlet, Camilla has received a preview of the novel, and Peter has had the opportunity for some "extensive behind-the-scenes" research at Buckingham Palace, including "insights" from members of the Royal Household, including the queen herself.
Publisher Pan Macmillan wrote of the plot: 'A tragic accident or a planned attack?... Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced the Queen was the intended target ... Failure at this level is not an option. But time is running out before a killer in the palace will strike again.'
In 2021, Camilla visited the set of 'Grace', an ITV adaptation of the novels starring John Simm as the detective and it was her conversation with the author that sparked the seed for his new book.
Peter said: 'The Queen asked me when I might set a Roy Grace novel in London … and the seed was sown. Where better in London than Buckingham Palace?
'I came up with an idea, which I ran by Her Majesty – and she loved it.'
'The Hawk is Dead' will be released on 21 October.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
King Charles ‘cried the night before marrying Princess Diana'
King Charles reportedly wept the night before marrying Princess Diana, knowing he was still in love with his ex, Camilla. But he wasn't the only one to shed tears. 'They both [cried],' royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital, referring to doomed couple Charles and Diana. 'Diana was reluctant about marrying Charles but was told by her sister it was too late. The tea towels with their joint images were already being sold. Charles was given cufflinks with a Camilla insignia, which he wore on his wedding day so that she could be included, which allegedly made him emotional.' Turner's claims came shortly after People magazine looked back at Charles and Diana's royal wedding July 29, 1981. 'According to the biography Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Charles felt pressured into his marriage to Diana and was still torn about his love for the then-married Camilla,' the outlet shared. 'He even cried over it the night before his nuptials.' British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital the book's author, Sally Bedell Smith, told her that Charles did cry the night before marrying Diana. 'In covering the king's coronation [in 2023], I was live on set with Sally Bedell Smith,' she said. 'I asked her about him crying the night before his wedding, which she confirmed.' While the explosive marriage of Charles and Diana is well documented, Fordwich said the younger royals of today should be grateful that they won't have to ever endure similar heartache. 'The tumultuous love triangle of Charles, Diana and Camilla is an infamously sad study of the clash between traditional royal duty versus personal fulfilment and happiness at the heart of Britain's monarchy,' Fordwich explained. 'Then-Prince Charles reportedly told his friends he felt compelled by his father, Prince Philip, to marry Diana not due to deep love, but rather to comply with royal convention. 'He had to marry a virginal, suitable bride who would meet public expectations of a future queen,' she shared. 'Camilla was regarded as completely 'unsuitable' due to her many previous relationships and marital status. Certainly, the Church of England wouldn't permit the heir to the throne to marry a divorcee. 'His godmother, Patricia Mountbatten, said he realised he was 'too committed' to back out of marrying Diana,' Fordwich continued. 'Still, she knew he was making a mistake given his love for Camilla, who remained his soulmate despite being married to another man.' Charles met Camilla in 1970 through mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz. According to reports, Charles was instantly smitten. Despite a blossoming romance, Charles joined the Navy in 1971. While Charles was serving, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, an ex-boyfriend of the royal's younger sister, Princess Anne, in 1973. According to reports, a devastated Charles tried to stop Camilla from marrying Parker Bowles, but the pair remained friends. As the former lovers stayed close, Charles began courting Lady Diana Spencer in 1980. 'By the time Charles married Diana, supposedly, Camilla's physical relationship with him had ceased,' said Fordwich. 'However, their emotional bond continued, for which both were derided. The tabloids termed her 'the other woman.'' And it was easy for Diana to see that Camilla continued to play an important role in the life of the man she was going to marry. 'At first, Diana professed to be very much in love with Charles but expressed to many she felt foolish and jealous once she fully grasped his emotional attachment to Camilla,' Fordwich explained. 'The press, both sides of the family and even her Spencer sisters made it clear to her that she simply couldn't back out of the wedding once her face was 'on the tea towels.' … The entire nation and the world were giddy with excitement regarding their imminent wedding. 'On her wedding day … the public speculated her sleepless look was due to wedding nerves. No one was aware of her knowing of Camilla's place in Charles' heart, which rendered her distraught. 'Diana later described feeling she was 'the luckiest girl in the world,' but she also knew Charles' true affections lay elsewhere,' Fordwich continued. 'Her emotional turmoil would damage not only the rest of their marriage but, to this day, it has ramifications in Prince Harry's behaviour, given his deep-rooted resentment of Camilla as well as his mistrust of the media.' Camilla made the royal wedding's guest list, likely due to her husband's role as the Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, People magazine reported. While several reports claimed Camilla wore white during the ceremony, catching Diana's eye, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams clarified to Fox News Digital that she wore a 'pale grey dress with a veiled pillbox hat.' Problems only worsened during Charles and Diana's honeymoon. 'From the start, the public preferred the princess, though privately she was angst-ridden and bulimic,' said Fitzwilliams. 'It does seem that fate almost inexorably decreed that, once it had been set in motion, it was impossible to call the wedding off. Diana's discovery of a bracelet Charles had bought for Camilla before the wedding worsened her suspicions that she had a dangerous rival.' 'The divide between Charles and Diana was exacerbated by the gulf between their respective ages, their completely different interests, as well as their worldviews,' added Fordwich. 'Even on their honeymoon, they reportedly had some rather major personality clashes. Later, there was the lurid scandal of 1989 that exposed Charles and Camilla's ongoing affair. It shocked the public and irreparably damaged Charles' reputation.' 'The British public hasn't forgotten,' Fordwich added. Charles and Diana separated in 1992. In 1995, Diana gave a bombshell interview to BBC's Panorama during which she declared, 'Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.' Their divorce was finalised in 1996.
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Perth Now
Anne Nolan has 'anxieties about dying'
Anne Nolan suffers from anxiety because she's so worried "about dying" after battling cancer and losing two of her sisters to the disease. The Nolans star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and battled it again almost exactly 20 years later but in 2024 she was told she was "clear" of the illness - which claimed the lives of her sister Bernie in 2013 and Linda in January - but Anne, 74, is still plagued by worries about the disease coming back. Anne admitted her cancer battle in the era of COVID-19 left her riddled with worries told OK! magazine: "It was really awful. "I ended up having anxiety about dying. I've had to have tablets from the doctor for anxiety because of having cancer during COVID. I wasn't allowed to be with my family. I was in hospital for 11 days ... "I still have anxiety but it's not as bad. I have anxieties about dying. It is about the cancer coming back as well ... I don't want to die, I love being alive. I love being here." She added that losing her sisters to cancer and surviving her own ordeal has given her a different prospective on life. Anne explained: "When you've had a life-threatening disease and you've lost two sisters then it brings it all to the forefront. "It makes you value life. You grab everything with both hands. Whenever I'm asked to do something I say yes straight away. When you come through it and you're at the other end and you think, well I didn't die and I'm alive and I'm gonna live every day." She went on to reveal she now wants to tick some plans off her bucket list including a trip to Italy to visit the Vatican and a holiday in Nashville, Tennessee. Anne also wants to learn to swim, pick up a new language and learn to play an instrument. She previously opened up about her brush with cancer and admitted she feels "lucky" to have pulled through. During an appearance on ITV's Lorraine, Anne said: "I am so lucky. I had my first cancer in 2000, I had my chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and an operation. And after six months of chemo, I was fine. And then 20 years later, almost to the day, it came back again in a different breast. "Two separate cancers. And again, I had the chemo and the radiotherapy and the operation and I'm happy to say that I'm clear. I've got another year before I'm actually discharged but I'm clear of cancer at the moment, thank goodness. So I count myself really, really lucky. "
7NEWS
5 days ago
- 7NEWS
Revealed: The four hair products that give Princess Kate her glossy, thick hair
Ever wondered how Catherine, Princess of Wales, always has that thick, glossy, impossibly healthy hair? The royal blowout is practically a signature look, and it turns out, celebrity hair stylist Richard Ward has let slip exactly what helps give her hair that much body and bounce. Speaking recently on ITV's Lorraine, the English stylist and hairdresser (yes, the man behind her famous wedding day hair) opened up about how women struggling with fine or thinning hair, especially post 40, can recreate a fuller look. His top product picks are all surprisingly easy to find, with several available on Amazon Australia and currently marked down so you can save on healthy, shiny and fuller hair. Here are the four cult buys Richard swears by to create hair that feels and looks as thick as Kate's. 1. NIOXIN Scalp and Hair Thickening System was $110, now $59.95 at Amazon Australia This three-step system is designed for natural hair experiencing light thinning, and it works by clearing excess oils and residue from the scalp while moisturising and strengthening strands. Ward called NIOXIN 'fantastic', saying, 'I've seen it work'. Unlike a lot of harsh thickening products, this one is gentle enough for colour-treated hair but s till effective at boosting visible volume over time. The kit includes a shampoo, conditioner and thickening scalp treatment that's ideal for those starting to notice a bit of age-related hair loss or just feeling like their hair's falling flat. 2. Oribe Maximista Thickening Spray, $86.99 at Amazon Australia This cult thickening spray is a go-to for Richard Ward. 'It's one of my favourite products,' he shared, but he warns it's potent stuff. 'Be careful with this one, as it is quite strong, but I do love it.' Apply to wet hair in sections while blow drying for the ultimate lift and long-lasting body. The heat-protective formula works like a dream for building serious volume, even on fine hair that normally resists any kind of bounce. 3. Kérastase Densifique Mousse Densimorphose, $221.71 Ward admitted he wasn't a fan of mousse until he found this one. 'It gives volume without being sticky. It gives a lot of texture to the hair as well,' he explained. Kérastase's high-end mousse is more than just a styling product. It's a leave-in treatment that adds noticeable density over time. Just apply to damp hair before blow-drying for a silky finish that doesn't feel heavy or coated. Yes, it's pricey, but fans say it's worth every cent for how lush their hair looks. 4. Color Wow Raise the Root Thicken + Lift Spray, was $50, now $42 Rounding out the royal-approved list is this high-performing root lifter from Color Wow. 'It gives volume and bulk to the hair, which is what people want when they've got fine thinning hair,' said Ward. It's heat-safe, non-sticky, and delivers touchable volume that feels like your real hair, just better. Use it on wet or dry hair, especially at the roots, and watch it work like magic. Whether you're dealing with post-partum thinning, hormonal hair changes or just want to fake the look of thicker strands, these four stylist-approved products could be the hair hack you've been waiting for.
