She was once the most despised woman in Britain but, as her first wedding anniversary approaches, the Duchess of Cornwall appears to be winning the hearts of the British public. Lindsay Jennings reports on how Camilla has changed in the eyes of the public.

PRINCESS Diana famously described her as a rottweiler, while one tabloid newspaper depicted her as a horse, with flicked hair and burgundy coloured lipstick. Her other epithets have ranged from marriage-wrecker to frump.

Yet, the headlines surrounding Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall recently have been more flattering, affectionate even. "Fred and Gladys On Tour" said one newspaper of her and the Prince of Wales' recent tour of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India. She came across as earthy, engaging and... normal.

She almost fainted in the oppressive heat in Rajhasthan but managed to joke: "Turn the thermostat down a bit". She even managed a smile after falling over backwards (her husband caught her), after no-one realised her chair had been whipped from behind her.

Other column inches in the past few months have been dedicated to her membership of the Women's Institute and her place in Tatler's top ten of stylish women alongside the likes of Kate Moss. She was even named Spouse of the Year in the Oldie Awards.

Could it be that we are finally warming to Camilla?

She has certainly blossomed of late. She has appeared less fidgety in her role as wife to the future king, and her dry humour and earthy nature has been winning new fans.

She first met Prince Charles at a polo match in 1970 and reportedly hooked him in with the line: 'My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-grandfather - so how about it'? But she probably never realised her status as royal mistress would eclipse that of her grandmother's.

Her fate as the woman the British public loved to hate was sealed when the Princess of Wales uttered the words: "There were three of us in this marriage." And her image as a homewrecker was fuelled by the humiliating publication of the Camillagate tapes, recorded conversations between Camilla and Charles where the future king declared wistfully that, among other intentions, he wished he could live inside her trousers.

Then, just as she was carving out a role as the Prince's unofficial companion, the Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash and the vilification began again.

Having divorced Andrew Parker Bowles, there was the careful reintroduction into public life as the Prince's official consort. There was the first public appearance together - orchestrated by the prince's spin doctor Mark Bolland - on the steps of the Ritz in London in 1999. Then 'that kiss' in public in 2002 at a do hosted by the National Osteoporosis Society, of which Camilla is patron.

Still, Camilla remained relatively anonymous. Most people had never heard her speak. But then came the announcement of the engagement. Despite the shambles of the wedding arrangements, Royalty fan Anita Atkinson says the wedding proved to be the first turning point in the way we viewed her.

"No-one really knew what she was like before the wedding because you never heard from her and she never defended herself when they were saying all those things," says Anita, of Fir Tree, Crook. "But the day I really warmed to her was on her wedding day. She conducted herself so well. She was elegant but you could also see how nervous she was and how she didn't really know what to do.

"Her ordinariness and her sense of humour is brilliant. When you see her with Prince Charles now they look like a couple who are comfortable with one another, which Charles and Diana never did, you could feel the awkwardness."

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, agrees the wedding was a turning point in the public's perception of Camilla, who was actually suffering from sinusitis and a high temperature on her wedding day.

"They were very careful who they chose as guests, they were all good friends, and I think it probably had a lot to do with William and Harry accepting her. She doesn't really interfere with their lives, she's just there as a support, which is what Prince Charles wanted all along.

"She's probably the best thing that's happened to him. They're very well suited. She grounds him and she makes him see the funny side of life and she's a mature, sensible person. But she's also fun and gutsy and laughs a lot."

The role of the media has also played a huge part in helping the public warm to Camilla. The Daily Star even feigned complete apathy over the wedding - albeit in a humorous attention-grabbing way. "Boring old gits to wed," it announced on their engagement.

"The media created her into a monster when they wanted to and then they turned her into this middle-aged woman when they wanted to," says Ingrid. "Her image was probably down to newspaper editors and how they wanted to portray her and, if they wanted to carry on putting her down, people still wouldn't like her.

"All she's done is smarten herself up. I don't think she's changed at all

But if there are signs she has won over the British media, it was a different story in America. Her first Royal tour abroad last year brought headlines such as 'Frump Tower' and comparisons with Diana, who was, and still is, idolised as a fashion icon and charity campaigner.

But perhaps the headlines only served to ingratiate her further with the British public. "It's exactly like if you have a relative who's a bit of a rogue," says Anita. "It's OK for you to call them, but you don't want anyone else doing it and that's what we're like with Camilla. Now we're getting to like her we don't want the Americans bad mouthing her."

Anita has a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest collection of Royal memorabilia. She gives talks across the region and says she has noticed a distinct thawing towards the Duchess over the past year.

"I think she supports him a lot more than Diana ever did. I don't think she wants to grab the limelight from him and is quite happy to hide in his shadow".

But will the British public accept Camilla as Queen? As it stands, she is expected to take the title of Princess Consort on her husband's accession.

"By the time Charles is king they are going to be pensioners and I don't think anybody will mind if she's Queen by then," says Anita.

Ingrid is more reticent. "I think she will be Queen Camilla, but it might not be for another 20 years and her life will have changed a lot more.

"The public has forgiven Camilla - as long as she doesn't put a foot wrong. But woe betide her if she does do anything wrong. However, she's intelligent enough to realise that, and that's why she chooses to keep a relatively low profile."