Why Was Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Fired from Her First Job? (Hint: It's Something Everyone Has Done Once!)

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall may be known for diligently going about her royal duties, but when she was younger, partying got her into a bit of trouble — even costing her a job!

When she was a debutante, establishing herself in London society in the 1960s, one of Camilla’s first serious jobs was as an assistant at an interior design company, Colefax and Fowler.

“There were a lot of debutantes working for us, even Camilla,” Imogen Taylor, who had been there since 1949, told The Sunday Times. “She worked for us for a moment but got the sack.”

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Taylor, 90, recounted the previously-unknown story as she promoted her memoir On The Fringe: A Life in Decorating.

The book puts the blame for Camilla’s departure at the hands of her then boss, Tom Parr. “The Duchess of Cornwall was one assistant who fell victim to one of [Parr’s] tantrums,” Taylor said. “I think she came in late having been to a dance.”

Nowadays, Camilla, 69, conducts public duties alongside her husband Prince Charles and solo – she notched up more than 230 last year. This week, she and Charles will help Queen Elizabeth welcome the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón to Britain for a state visit.