Camilla - the new Queen
- fairytale princess or evil stepmother?
After having discussed King Charles in the last part, we cannot forget about the current Queen. Camilla may never be able to fully step into the footsteps of her predecessors (both as a Queen and as a wife), but she is an important part of the royal family today. Many stories and rumors surround her, and today I want to further analyze the forbidden love between Charles and Camilla and whether they truly are the dream couple they claim to be.
birthchart of Queen Camilla 17.07.1947 07:10 London
It is quickly apparent that Camilla has a very similar birth chart to Charles. Again, we can see a Leo rising and a Pluto in the 1st house, this time in conjunction with Saturn. She is particularly water-dominated, but almost completely lacks earth.
The strong emphasis on the 12th house also stands out immediately. She is an inscrutable woman who keeps many secrets and is reluctant to reveal anything about herself. Since Charles is quite similar to her, a hidden relationship behind the scenes was probably something both of them were good at and preferred.
The 12th house is also the house where one does not get seen, whether intentional or not. It makes sense that she has always tended to stay in the background and also operated behind the scenes during the marriage between Charles and Diana, as well as being handled as a secret. Even now as a queen, she is still very unremarkable and inconspicuous. She seems to completely subordinate herself to Charles. Might that be what he always wanted?
synastry between Charles und Camilla
Looking at their synastry, much becomes clearer.
Charles longs for a solid and reliable relationship, probably a rather traditional one. If we consider the significant role his mother played in his life – who certainly had other things to do besides taking care of her son and was therefore probably quite difficult to reach emotionally – it makes sense that he was looking for a maternal and caring person. Someone who gives him attention and care. We see this in the Moon in Taurus, as well as his Venus in Libra in conjunction with Neptune – a woman who wants to merge with him, to submit herself to him, make his life easy and keep things on the low; Neptune is also often an indicator of great longing.
Camilla seems to fit this role perfectly with her Stellium in Cancer (the sign of the mother). Just like Diana, Camilla was born under this sun placement. Although there is no clear preference for this particular sign in Charles' birth chart (except maybe his Venus in the 4. house), his unconscious preference makes sense, since he was probably longing for a woman who would take on and live out his emotional side for him. With an isolated Moon, the tip of the 12th house in Cancer, and Venus in conjunction with Neptune in the 4th house, he was certainly looking for a sensitive and empathetic family person to help him gain access to these sides of himself.
Now we want to take a quick look at his preferences and what he is unconsciously looking for in a partner in more detail: his DC falls into Aquarius, therefore he is interested in someone somewhat unconventional (it also indicates his strong need for freedom in a realtionship). But since its traditional ruler Saturn falls into Virgo in the 2nd house, there is also a great longing for security and order. We've already discussed the Moon a bit, especially in the sign of Taurus, he seeks comfort, support and loyalty. Its ruler Venus in conjunction with Neptune in the 4. house speaks for an affable family person (both of which fit perfectly with Camilla’s Moon in conjunction with Venus). But this conjunction is particularly noteworthy, as this can indicate a rather sensitive or creative, as well as submissive partner. For him, it is all about ideals, he was constantly looking for the "perfect match" - which would probably also explain his frequent infidelities, since he was constantly chasing after what he didn’t have; but Neptune often also has something to do with poor accessibility, as well as dissolution.
Camilla on the other hand seems to have been looking for someone unconventional as well, as we see again with the Aquarius DC. In addition, its ruler Saturn in the 1st house in Leo (and in conjunction with Pluto), indicates that she is interested in a powerful man who is leading and in control, as well as able to make decisions for her. Either she consciously sought an influential person, or her partners tended to be very dominant and self-centered people against her will.
It is actually rather atypical to project the planets in the 1st house onto others, but since the focus is so strongly on her very contradictory 12th house in Cancer, it may well be that she actually has the potential to be strong and self-determined herself, but either achieves this through her partners or allows them to live it for her. The Pluto in conjunction with Saturn could also bring up the theme of breaking taboos and reinventing rules, which makes sense when looking at their story together.
Apart from this very stark image, there is also a different side to this. These aspects might surprise you, since they seem very contradicting at first, which actually isn’t uncommon. We see a desire for a very sensitive and intellectual partner. With Mars in Gemini in the 11th house, her ideal partner should be social and clever, with the Sun in Cancer also rather emotional - but here again in conjunction with Mercury, therefore the intellectual part definitely overweighs. Perhaps she found in Charles the well-read and strong king she had dreamed of.
Charles sees himself more as a conqueror. With his Sun and Mars in the 5th house, flirting and sexuality are important to him. Especially with Mars in Sagittarius, a very fickle sign that likes to try a bit of everything, the rumors that he was not the most faithful partner are close at hand.
She, on the other hand, sees her role as a woman and partner as very caring and emotional. With the Moon in conjunction with Venus, she may also have a preference for art or music. This is a very delicate and aesthetic constellation that likes to take care of others and fully live out its femininity. She is a very private person, which probably suits the royal family well.
Charles certainly enjoys a good reputation and a lot of sympathy from his supporters. If we look at the Moon in the 10th house – an admiration that came to him passively (through his family) – he still enjoys his fame (ruler MC in the 5th house), with Venus in its domicile. As mentioned, Camilla is a person who prefers to operate behind the scenes. Charles may have consciously chosen someone he knew would not overshadow him again, an issue that his Moon position (a.k.a. his mother) obviously left great wounds of.
important events:
Here I also like to pay attention to significant events and parallels between the two. A chart of the constellation for each of the events I am going to list would exceed the scope of this article, so I will limit myself to a brief summary. It is interesting that, due to their almost identical house positions, both have always experienced the same transits at the same time (in relation to the axes).
For example, Jupiter touched their IC when they got married to each other in 2005. So, the theme of family and origin was addressed for both of them. Jupiter is also often called the "great benefic". For Camilla, the wedding was definitely a significant "upgrade in rank and status." Although we can also see that Camilla's Jupiter stems from the 4th house - the house of the family (when she married her first husband, this planet was passing through her 7th house - the house of partnership) whereas for Charles, this planet usually lies within the 5th house and in opposition to Uranus. At the time of the wedding, it speaks exactly to his Venus/Neptune conjunction, so his visions of the perfect woman seem to have come true (or also the person he had been dreaming about, his longing for Camilla has finally come to an end) but his birth chart position makes him appear more interested in children, sexuality and self-portrayal, and in opposition to Uranus, there is a risk that he feels restricted by this marriage. (When Jupiter, for example, passed through his 7th house in 1985, his urge for sexual freedom seemed particularly great, considering that this was the time when both him and Diana pursued separate affairs whilst being married to each other, and shortly thereafter, he re-established contact with Camilla.)
During his divorce from Diana, his Uranus passed over his DC where his Saturn stood in the early 90s. It was undoubtedly a difficult time for his marriage, which was finally shattered and dissolved by the divorce.
Starting in 1996, we can also see the turbulent time in the love life of the two in their birth charts. Camilla had just divorced, as had Charles. At that time, Uranus was transiting their DC, followed by Neptune, while Uranus continued to be in their 7th house for several years. It was a time of uncertainty and longing. Both were ready to completely turn their lives upside down and go against tradition to be together. These two slow-moving planets in this transit symbolize this.
Composit of Charles and Camilla
Their attraction towards each other was probably particularly intellectual. The two certainly understood each other very well - in every sense of the word. With Mercury in its domicile and the Moon in Gemini, as well as the Sun in the 3rd house, the relationship probably thrived particularly on conversation and mental exchange, which we can recognize again in Camilla's ideal partner, among other things. They have similar worldviews and are likely to have developed a strong friendship alongside a romantic relationship (Moon in the 11th house and Mars in the 9th).
However, the square between the Sun and Uranus could indicate the detours this relationship had to overcome and endure; also, that it may have been somewhat atypical and not immediately accepted by the public (see Uranus position in the 11th house).
Here we also see that the relationship was initially rather undercover. Most planets can be found on the northern hemisphere and in the first quadrant, so it was a relationship that was only supposed to exist for them personally. Yet, with Pluto in the 1st house and the MC in Aries, it is not surprising that the connection was too strong to hide and pushed the relationship to the surface (see also Lunar Nodes).
Jupiter and Neptune are particularly prominent here. Neptune, because it is located at the IC and only receives beneficial aspects, and Jupiter can be found in its domicile, which casts a trine onto the MC and AC in the 5th house. Jupiter certainly influences the relationship positively in general, especially when it comes to its presentation and appearance, but it also casts a square onto Mercury and an opposition to the Moon. The strict, analytical, and orderly character of these two celestial bodies therefore gets disturbed by a reckless and very naive Jupiter. The whole connection seems somewhat dreamy and veiled, on the one hand because we do not know much about their relationship, on the other hand, they have acted recklessly and to their own advantage many times. Nevertheless, the love drama seems almost like something out of a fairy tale, where the king is willing to risk everything for his one true love, which is also indicated by the delusional, romantic Neptune and the self-confident, lofty Jupiter.
At this point, I would like to quote a passage from the book “Liebesbeziehungen im Horoskop” ("Love Relationships in the Horoscope") by Lianella Livaldi Laun and was loosely translated for this article. (This passage was actually written for the “Combin”, yet this as well has its AC in Leo and resembles the Composit very much):
"Combin-AC in Leo: The couple must make an effort to maintain loyalty and mutual respect. The relationship is considered the most important factor in their lives by both partners. It is at the center of their existence and the shared experiences are highly valued. The older partner [here Camilla] behaves generously and trustingly towards the younger, respects their need for freedom and independence, and supports their ideas. However, if the younger one abuses their trust and hurts them with infidelity, the older partner will not be able to forgive this and trust is destroyed."
Another example of how central and vital this relationship felt for the two of them. With Mars in Pisces, the two will feel like their energies are merged, and Venus in Leo gives the impression that this relationship is based on longliving loyalty and honesty. The Pluto in the 1st house symbolizes the enormous depth and power behind this connection, even if this passion often came along with pain and profound transformation.
An important lesson in life is to understand that there is no such thing as "the perfect partner." And here we see that even the royals do not simply find love on the street. I believe that this relationship mainly developed because we are dealing with two very assertive people who will execute their plans and fight for what they want no matter what it takes. Whether one finds the extents this couple was ready to go for their love for each other courageous or reprehensible is a matter of taste. The strong Pluto that both have located in their 1st house is passionate and driven and will do what it takes for them to get what they want. Even if this means to go against rules that felt like laws or facing the pain of waiting for years for it to finally happen. (See here also his Moon in Taurus and Scorpio Sun; as well as her Saturn in the 1. House.)
I think part of why this relationship exists, is because they are able to see themselves in each other and therefore also always know what their partner needed from them - in this case exactly each other. Even though this also meant that they probably weren’t able to really learn from this connection or grow from their experience together, and their relationship might have later turned out to be more of a friendship between the two – a true Plutonian would rather die than to admit that they were wrong.