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Story highlights
- Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, preparing for U.S. trip
- Charles praises Camilla for how she has defined her public role
- The two are coming up on their 10-year wedding anniversary
Watch "Spotlight: Charles and Camilla" Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET to get an inside look at the royal couple as they prepare for their joint visit to the U.S.
Aberdeenshire, Scotland (CNN)In an exclusive interview ahead of his U.S. tour -- and ahead of his 10-year wedding anniversary -- Prince Charles paid tribute to the "brilliant" way his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has taken on the "real, real challenge" of defining her public role.
"It's always marvelous to have somebody who, you know, you feel understands and wants to encourage. Although she certainly pokes fun if I get too serious about things. And all that helps," Prince Charles told CNN.
Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Britain's Prince Charles has visited the United States more than 20 times and has met with a number of U.S. Presidents. Here, Prince Charles speaks while visiting President Richard Nixon in 1970.
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Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Prince Charles, fifth from right, and members of the royal family meet with President Jimmy Carter, fourth from left, and other world leaders in 1977.
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Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Prince Charles sits with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office in 1981.
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Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
President George H.W. Bush greets Prince Charles in 1990.
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Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Prince Charles and other world leaders, including President Bill Clinton, attend the funeral of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Jerusalem in 1995.
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Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, visit President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush in 2005. This was Camilla's first official visit to the United States as the Duchess of Cornwall.
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Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents
Prince Charles speaks with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2011. Charles and Camilla will meet with Obama again on their upcoming visit to the United States.
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The couple first visited the U.S. together as newlyweds in 2005, and Camilla was confronted by hardcore Princess Diana fans with abusive placards. Polls at the time found that between 57% and 73% of Brits opposed Charles' new wife being known as queen. If you go back even further, to 1997, the year Diana died, an Ipsos MORI poll put it at 86%.
But there's been a change in sentiment since they married. A new poll conducted by Comres for CNN found that only 35% now oppose Camilla being known as queen. Nearly one in four said they liked her more now than they did 10 years ago.
This coincides with a change in palace strategy -- away from the aggressive spin machine of the 1990s to simply allowing Camilla to be herself. When she appears in public, she's either seen supporting her husband or promoting a set of causes she has a genuine connection with.
Prince Charles praised how his wife has handled herself.
"She's done an enormous amount for the whole issue around osteoporosis, which of course runs in her family," he said, noting that Camilla's mother and grandmother both suffered from the bone disease.
He also points to other issues Camilla is associated with, including literacy and preventing sexual violence.
The Duchess of Cornwall, by sticking to what she knows and cares about, is able to connect with the people she meets, which doesn't always come across on camera.
The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles take a stroll on a chilly January morning.
When Charles and Camilla married in 2005, there was huge sensitivity around the legacy of Diana, who was expected to be queen herself.
With this in mind, royal aides announced that Camilla would not use the title of Queen when Charles becomes King. Instead she would be known as Princess Consort. That still stands, although the public of today looks less likely to oppose the title of Queen.
Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are coming up on their 10th wedding anniversary. The two were married on April 9, 2005.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla, seated at the left near Queen Elizabeth II, attend the opening of Parliament together in May 2013.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
From left, Charles; Prince William; Camilla; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; and Prince Harry leave a Thanksgiving service in London in June 2012. William and Harry are Charles' sons from his first marriage.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
The royal couple hold koalas while visiting Australia in November 2012.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Pope Benedict XVI exchanges gifts with Charles and Camilla as they meet in his private library at the Vatican in April 2009.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla add to a mural of Martin Luther King Jr. while in Philadelphia in January 2007.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla taste local food during a visit to Skardu, Pakistan, in November 2006.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
The couple play pool in November 2006.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla leave a prayer service on their wedding day in 2005.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
A gift shop offers memorabilia featuring the couple shortly before they were married. The wedding was initially scheduled for April 8, but it was later postponed a day.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla talk with actor Al Pacino in London in November 2004.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla walk together in February 2003.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla make their first public appearance as a couple after leaving a party in London in January 1999.
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Photos: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Charles and Camilla are seen together in February 1975. They met in the early 1970s at a polo match at Windsor Great Park.
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