Prue Leith has lifted the lid on what it is really like to meet Queen Camilla, admitting she rather enjoys the attention that comes with being famous.
The 86-year-old TV favourite has crossed paths with the royal family several times over the years and says it is one of the unexpected perks of her long career in the spotlight.
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Prue Leith’s Queen Camilla confession
In her book, Being Old…and Learning to Love It!, Prue reflects on her career, her later-life fame and the doors it has opened.
After stepping into Mary Berry’s shoes on The Great British Bake Off in 2017, Prue enjoyed nine years on the beloved show before confirming she will leave this year. With that surge in popularity came a new level of recognition.
One of the benefits, she admits, is being welcomed by famous faces and even royalty as though she is part of the inner circle.
“I confess to really liking the attention that comes with a bit of fame. It’s lovely being warmly welcomed as an old friend by the likes of Jonathan Ross or Queen Camilla, even though I know they are probably faking it,” she wrote.
‘Probably faking it’
While she is honest about enjoying it, Prue is also clear-eyed about the culture around celebrity.
“Despite my enjoyment of it, I do think our obsession with fame is unhealthy….But fame for fame’s sake seems a soul-destroying ambition. I also think celebrity has its dangers,” she said.
“I can’t understand why some VIPs seem to go out of their way to offend people. People who are unfailingly friendly and polite are absolutely loved and admired for it.”
Prue on her Damehood and palace delay
Prue was awarded a Damehood in 2021 for services to food, broadcasting and charity, having previously received an OBE in 1989 and a CBE in 2010.
However, she did not collect her honour at the palace in person. Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2023, she explained there had been a lengthy delay.
“I had a letter from the Palace that said, ‘We can’t give you your Damehood for four years because there’s a backlog.’ I thought, ‘I haven’t got four years’.
“They said, ‘Your local Lord Lieutenant can do it, or you can have it by post.’ So I had the Lord Lieutenant come,” she revealed.
“She was all dressed up in a smart uniform at my house, my daughter read the citation, and it was lovely, and we had a drink. No royals involved.”
‘It was lovely’
Prue also shared a light-hearted detail about designing her coat of arms after becoming a Dame.
“You can have a coat of arms if you’re a Knight or Dame. I went with my husband, and they said, ‘What do you want for your motto?’ And I said I was ‘JFDI’, by which I mean, ‘Just [bleeping] do it,” she explained.
“And they said, ‘We don’t think the ‘f’ will go down well in higher places.’ So I had, ‘Nothing in moderation.'”
From royal encounters with Queen Camilla to an at-home Damehood ceremony, Prue’s reflections show she may question the cult of celebrity, but she is more than happy to enjoy the occasional brush with it.
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