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Queen Elizabeth II “carved her own role” after she came to the throne, Camilla, the Queen Consort, will say in a personal TV tribute to her.
Camilla recalls the Queen’s “wonderful blue eyes” and her “unforgettable smile”, in the BBC programme.
It will be broadcast shortly before a national minute’s silence held across the UK on Sunday at 20:00 BST.
She will also say the Queen “has been part of our lives forever”.
The Queen Consort was four when Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952 and she tells the documentary: “I’m 75 now and I can’t remember anybody except the Queen being there.”
Remembering the monarch, Camilla described “those wonderful blue eyes… when she smiles they light up her whole face”.
“I will always remember that smile.”
She also tells the BBC documentary in the pre-recorded interview how her mother-in-law had carved out her own role for many years from the “difficult position” of being a “solitary woman” in what was a male-dominated world.
“There weren’t women prime ministers or presidents. She was the only one so I think she carved her own role.”
Ahead of Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark her 70 years on the throne earlier this year, Queen Elizabeth had said it was her “sincere wish” that the then-Duchess of Cornwall would become known as Queen Consort when Charles became King.
That ended years of debate over what she would become known as.
The Queen also called on the public to support her daughter-in-law and son when he became the new monarch.
Speaking about his wife during his first speech as monarch, King Charles said: “I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much.”
The Queen Consort’s tribute to her late mother-in-law will air on BBC One on Sunday during the Eve of the State Funeral broadcast from 19:00. It will be followed by a nation-wide minute’s silence at 20:00.
Events and moments of reflection are also taking place across the UK on Sunday. Near Falkirk, Scotland, 96 lanterns – one for each year of Her Majesty’s life – will be lowered into the pool of reflection at the foot of the Queen Elizabeth II Canal at 19:30.
On the final full day of the Queen’s lying-in-state, thousands continue to queue as the government warns people considering joining the queue of a 13.5-hour wait. The queue stretches as far as Southwark Park. Members of the public will be able to see the coffin at Westminster Hall until 06:30 on Monday.
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