Camilla developed a public role through charitable patronage before taking on a full program of royal duties following her marriage to Charles in 2005. As Duchess of Cornwall, she represented the monarchy through visits, overseas tours, and support for voluntary organizations. Her work focused especially on osteoporosis, literacy, animal welfare, and people affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.

Her involvement with osteoporosis charities began in 1994, after the disease affected her mother and grandmother. She became president of the National Osteoporosis Society in 2001, before it became the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Visits to researchers, health services, and community groups helped bring attention to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Other patronages included Barnardo's, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and organizations supporting older people and the arts.

Camilla used speeches and visits to encourage discussion of abuse and to support survivors. Her washbag initiative, begun in 2013, provided practical comfort items through sexual assault referral centres. In literature, she supported libraries, reading programs, and writers, becoming patron of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018. The Queen's Reading Room grew from a book club established during the pandemic in 2021 into a charity promoting reading for pleasure, with author conversations and public literary events.

She became Queen Consort when Charles III acceded in September 2022 and was crowned alongside him in May 2023. As Queen, she accompanies the King at state occasions, welcomes visiting representatives, and maintains her own charitable engagements. The role combines ceremonial representation with sustained advocacy; government policy remains the responsibility of ministers. Her public work uses the visibility of royal office to connect established institutions with causes that can otherwise receive limited attention, particularly intimate subjects such as ill health and abuse.