A royal author has said that a late member of the royal family has been "reborn" in Queen Camilla following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. In his 2022 book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, published shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Gyles Brandreth, reflects on the monarchy during a "difficult" period of profound transition.

Drawing on decades of experience, including working with Prince Philip through the National Playing Fields Association (now Fields in Trust), Brandreth paints a striking parallel between the late Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Camilla. According to the biographer, witnessing Camilla support King Charles III in the days following the Queen's death changed his perspective.

He wrote: "As Prince Philip's biographer, and as the chairman of one of his favourite charities, I got to know the late Queen's husband quite well over more than 40 years, and I thought the Duke of Edinburgh was irreplaceable. I was wrong.

"Observing King Charles III and his Queen Consort travelling to the four corners of the United Kingdom this week, watching them together every step of the way through the difficult, tense and crowded ten days since the Queen died, I see my old boss (and hero) reborn - in Camilla."

Gyles Brandreth first met the Queen in 1968, when he was 20 years old and a student at Oxford University. He has met her many times at public and at private events, and he was friends with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The description of the book reads: "This intimate, personal biography of Queen Elizabeth II tells the story of her remarkable life, reign and times, from a perspective unlike any other.

"Gyles Brandreth writes the Queen's tale candidly with grace and sensitivity from the view of someone who met her, talked with her and kept a record of those conversations. Brandreth knew the Queen's husband well and knows the new King and Queen Consort.

"Told with authority, a refreshing dose of humour and moving honesty from a totally unique viewpoint, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is the must-have biography of the longest-serving monarch in English history, of a woman who represented not only her people but stood as an emblem of fortitude and resilience worldwide throughout her long life. Elizabeth II - what was she really like? What made her the person she was?"