Queen Consort Camilla pays tribute to Queen and shines light on her passion for racing
Watch the Queen Consort's tribute to the late Queen in full
Camilla, the Queen Consort, paid tribute to the Queen and gave an insight into how the late monarch spent her private time.
She also praised the late monarch as a woman who "carved her role" in a circle of male world leaders.
In a video released on Sunday after the minute's silence at 8pm, the Queen Consort said: "She has been part of our lives forever. I'm 75 now and I can't remember anybody except the Queen being there.
"It must've been so difficult for her being a solitary woman and there weren't women prime ministers or women presidents. She was the only one and so I think she carved her own role."
She continued: "She's got those wonderful blue eyes, that when she smiles they light up her whole face. I'll always remember that smile, you know that smile is unforgettable."
The Queen Consort said the late monarch was able to separate her private passions and her public role.
She said the Queen's "real passion was racing" and that she would escape to Sandringham where "she could go every day to see her foals, work out the next matings for the year".
The Queen Consort continued: "You wouldn't dare question her or argue with her on how a horse was bred, or how it ran, because you'd get a very steely blue eyed look back again."
On the eve of her Platinum Jubilee in February 2022, the Queen endorsed the then-Duchess of Cornwall to be known as Queen Consort when the time came.
The late monarch said it was her “sincere wish” and called on the public to back both her daughter-in-law and Charles when he became King.
It was a shrewd move from the Queen, in her twilight years, setting her affairs in order and ensuring as smooth a transition as possible.
Following her wedding to King Charles in 2005, she very gradually took on a more prominent position within the royal family, including riding next to the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee carriage procession in 2012.
She also began to attend the State Opening of Parliament and was made a Privy Counsellor in 2016 ahead of the Queen’s official 90th birthday.
Now her style is Her Majesty and the Queen Consort is expected to be crowned Queen at the King’s coronation.
The remarkable life of the Queen remembered in our latest episode of What You Need To Know
Final preparations are now in full swing for the Queen's funeral on Monday, with politicians and royal dignitaries from around the world arriving in the UK.
World leaders made their way to London to sign the book of condolence at Lancaster House.
Meanwhile, thousands of people continue to queue to see the Queen’s coffin laying in state.