Camilla praises Duchess of Cambridge in new documentary: 'She does it very naturally'

The Duchess of Cornwall has praised her stepdaughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Camilla selected Kate to photograph her for a special issue of Country Life magazine, celebrating her upcoming 75th birthday but also marking the publication's 125th anniversary.

Cameras followed the Duchess of Cornwall in her role as guest editor for a new documentary called Camilla's Country Life, which airs in the UK on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Duchess of Cornwall says she'll follow Prince Philip's lead when she is Queen Consort

While speaking to the magazine's editors in one scene, Camilla revealed details from behind the scenes of her shoot with Kate and told how Prince Charles influenced which shot was selected for the cover.

"[Catherine] did really good pictures and you know she does it very sort of naturally … we had a lot of fun doing it," Camilla told Country Life's Paula Lester and Mark Hedges.

READ MORE: Prince Harry on the importance of 'building resilience' to 'trauma, loss, grief'

"It was very relaxed, very kind of the Duchess of Cambridge - she came with her camera, she's an extremely good photographer and it was all very casual."

The Duchess noted with a hearty chuckle: "There wasn't much hair and makeup."

"It was just done in the garden with a lot of laughs, it was a lovely way of doing it."

Kate's photos from Camilla's private home of Ray Mill were considered so good, the editors had a tough time narrowing down the selection of images to run in the magazine.

For the cover shot Lester and Hedges whittled it down to a top three before Camilla had the final say.

"This is the one I know my husband approves of, which I suppose is a way to look at it," Camilla told the others with a smile.

In the documentary, magazine bosses admit when the Duchess of Cornwall first suggested the Duchess of Cambridge as her pick for photographer, they weren't too sure who the royal meant.

"She immediately said 'Catherine' and none of us could think who she meant," Country Life editor Mark Hedges said.

"And then some light bulbs started going on," he added.

Inside the magazine, which goes on sale on Wednesday, Camilla isn't afraid to take a look at more serious issues, with the domestic violence campaigner exploring the "dark side" of country living in a feature article.

"However beautiful the countryside is - it's not all buttercups and daisies," Camilla said.

"There are darker sides, so I wanted to put a little bit of emphasis on rising crime, on domestic abuse - all the things that are going on without people probably realising it".

The future Queen Consort also admitted that despite 17 years now as the Duchess of Cornwall, she still gets nervous before big events.

"I think everyone gets nervous before big events, it's nature, isn't it?" she said, adding: "I take a deep breath and get on with it."

The 244-page special edition also features Camilla's favourite roast chicken recipe and the Duchess commissioned her son, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, for the piece 'Do I dare eat a peach?'.

The duchess reveals her three favourite reads, her favourite view of Lochnagar and there's a special piece on rescue dogs, with Camilla's own pet pooches Bluebell and Beth, both rescue animals from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, appearing in the mag draped in pearls.

"I have cherished this opportunity to highlight some of the people, communities and charities whom I have had the privilege to encounter and who do such a great deal for life in our countryside, too often unseen and unsung," the duchess says in the magazine.

The Duchess of Cornwall isn't the first royal guest editor Country Life has had. Her husband Prince Charles took on the task in 2013 and again in 2018, while sister-in-law Princess Anne tried her hand at it in 2019.

Camilla's Country Life will air in the UK on July 13 at 9pm on ITV (6am July 14 AEST).