Prince Charles opens up about love and life

PHOTO: CNN

Now playing

01:41

The Duchess of Cornwall's sense of fun

PEACEHAVEN, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 03: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex make an official visit to the Joff Youth Centre in Peacehaven, Sussex on October 3, 2018 in Peacehaven, United Kingdom. The Duke and Duchess married on May 19th 2018 in Windsor and were conferred The Duke & Duchess of Sussex by The Queen. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Now playing

01:01

Meghan and Harry expecting their first child

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank kiss after their wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Britain October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville

PHOTO: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS

Now playing

01:48

Look back at Princess Eugenie's 2018 wedding to Jack Brooksbank

WINDSOR, ENGLAND - MAY 15: Queen Elizabeth II attends the third day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Home Park on May 15, 2004 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Carl De Souza/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Carl De Souza/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Now playing

02:22

The Queen's love of Racing

CHESTER, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Queen Elizabeth II sitts and laughs with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in the town of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire, England. Meghan Markle married Prince Harry last month to become The Duchess of Sussex and this is her first engagement with the Queen. During the visit the pair will open a road bridge in Widnes and visit The Storyhouse and Town Hall in Chester. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Now playing

01:08

Meghan takes first solo trip with the Queen

Savannah Phillips and Prince George at Trooping of Colour.

PHOTO: @Welshracer / Twitter

Now playing

00:29

The little royals steal the Queen's spotlight

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 01: Meghan Markle presents awards during the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018 in London, England. The awards celebrate the achievements of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women who have taken part in remarkable sporting and adventure challenges over the last year. (Photo by Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

PHOTO: WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Now playing

01:18

Meghan Markle brushes off awkward moment

LONDON, ENGLAND -JANUARY 22: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Alternative crop of image #908732602) Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank pose in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace after they announced their engagement. Princess Eugenie wears a dress by Erdem, shoes by Jimmy Choo and a ring containing a padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds on January 22, 2018 in London, England.. They are to marry at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in the autumn this year. (Photo by Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

PHOTO: WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Now playing

00:53

Another royal wedding in 2018

Princess Charlotte begins nursery school

PHOTO: Handout/Kensington Palace

Now playing

01:18

Princess Charlotte's cutest moments

Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee US actress Meghan Markle greet wellwishers on a walkabout as they arrive for an engagement at Nottingham Contemporary in Nottingham, central England, on December 1, 2017 which is hosting a Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Nottingham in their first set of engagements together since announcing their engagement. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

PHOTO: OLI SCARFF/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Now playing

01:06

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first royal visit

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 27: Hayley Henson and daughter Emily Henson sit with Prince Harry at the Sitting Volleyball Finals during the Invictus Games 2017 at Mattamy Athletic Centre on September 27, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)

PHOTO: Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games

Now playing

00:45

Prince Harry catches child 'swiping' his popcorn

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 19: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, holds Queen Elizabeth II's arm as she departs Canada House after attending a celebration to mark Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation on July 19, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Now playing

00:59

Holding the Queen's elbow: A royal blunder

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019 press day at Chelsea Flower Show on May 20, 2019 in London, England.

PHOTO: Pool/Getty Images

Now playing

01:39

The Duchess of Cambridge's best moments

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 12: Prince Harry hosts a reception to mark the 40th anniversary of the children's charity WellChild at Buckingham Palace on June 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool-Getty Images)

PHOTO: WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Now playing

01:03

Prince Harry opens up about Diana's funeral

ASCOT, ENGLAND - JUNE 18: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attends day two of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2014 in Ascot, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)

PHOTO: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse

Now playing

01:37

Prince Philip: The man behind the Queen

LOSSIEMOUTH, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 20: Queen Elizabeth II is seen during a visit to RAF Lossiemouth on her 67th wedding anniversary on November 20, 2014 in Lossiemouth, Scotland. It was the Queen's first visit to the base since 2003. (Photo by Danny Lawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

PHOTO: WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Now playing

01:23

The world's longest serving monarchs

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.

(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

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.

PHOTO: Keystone/Getty Images

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.

PHOTO: Pool/AP

Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents

Prince Charles sits with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office in 1981.

PHOTO: Dirck Halstead/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Photos: Prince Charles and the Presidents

President George H.W. Bush greets Prince Charles in 1990.

PHOTO: Terry Ashe/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

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.

PHOTO: Michel Lipchitz/AP

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.

PHOTO: Tim Graham/Getty Images

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.

PHOTO: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

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%.

Reporter’s notebook: Interviewing the royal couple

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.

PHOTO: CNN

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.