Is Camilla trying to look like Diana?

Prince Charles’s consort Camilla Parker-Bowles has been looking more and more radiant of late. Is it the newlywed glow of love or a very discreet but skillful makeover?

Camilla’s new look was first noticed by Anna Wintour, American Vogue’s eagle-eyed editor-in-chief. After their first meeting Wintour raved, "I couldn’t take my eyes off Camilla. She looked marvelous and I thought what a difference being in love makes to a woman’s appearance."

But according to Hello! magazine, love might have less to do with it than a talented team of beauty experts.

"In the ’90s while she stayed on the sidelines of Prince Charles’s life, she was more often snapped in down-at-the-heel loafers and old, patterned socks," recounts Hello!. "A world accustomed to dazzling Diana felt Camilla could never fill her Jimmy Choo shoes."

But this phase started changing in 2001, when Camilla attended Chloe’s spring show in Paris. Soon she began buying designer clothes with the help of fashion houses like Valentino, Versace, Armani and Chanel, which would offer her the best of their new collections. And who paid for Camilla’s outfits? Why, Prince Charles, of course, because the future king "doesn’t want his wife accepting freebies."

Once known for fashion faux pas like wearing strapless ballgowns at her age (57), Camilla now chose classy but alluring outfits like black lace cocktail dresses that covered her shoulders and arms while showing some cleavage. For day she started wearing pastel suits that flattered her blond coloring.

In the frenzy of preparing for her wedding, Camilla also lost a lot of weight – over 15 pounds, according to reports. And her once tight-lipped smile has gotten wider and brighter, thanks to cosmetic dental work. Camilla had her teeth capped and whitened, and flashes her pearly whites more often now. Once derided for wearing no makeup and sporting chipped nail polish, Camilla now boasts a soft, natural look courtesy of makeup artist Julia Biddlecombe and light-reflecting makeup, and glistens her fingertips with the neutral Sugar Daddy shade by Essie.

Camilla’s trademark hairstyle has been bleached and given creamy honey-blonde L’Oreal highlights by Jo Hansford, the London colorist whose clients include Elizabeth Hurley and Angelina Jolie.

With her new designer dresses, flipped coif and royal glow, is Camilla trying to look more like Diana? Only her stylists know for sure, but now, with Charles permanently by her side and her hotly debated status as possible future queen, Camilla really has something to smile about. – Therese Jamora-Garceau