You can’t help who you fall in love with, but some relationships come with more strings than others.
Has Camilla Parker Bowles managed to win over her husband’s royal family,
or is the queen still holding a grudge? Keep watching to find out!
Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles reportedly first met at a polo event in
Windsor Great Park in the early 1970s. Some reports allege that Camilla made a comment
to the young prince about her great-grandmother, who was known for her role as a royal mistress.
Other accounts have the pair meeting via a mutual friend at a party.
Either way, the two apparently hit it off immediately. Of course, as many of us know,
Camilla and Charles' timing was a bit awry. While they were apparently smitten with one another,
Prince Charles' duty in the Royal Navy interjected.
According to multiple reports, Charles was besotted with Camilla,
but his naval training took him out of the country. As a result,
Camilla was left to pretty much fend for herself. As such, she ended up rekindling a
former relationship she'd had with Andrew Parker Bowles, and the two tied the knot in July 1973.
It might come as a surprise to some that Camilla moved on from her romance with Charles so quickly.
However, coming from an upper-class family, Camilla did not have a career or profession that
would allow her to provide for herself. Instead, she was expected to become a wife and mother.
Camilla Parker Bowles' life drastically changed once she realized that Prince Charles was not
going to pop the question. But, despite his hesitation, Charles was reportedly
still incredibly taken aback by Camilla's decision to marry Andrew Parker Bowles.
As noted by Vanity Fair, Charles didn't understand why his romance with Camilla
had gone so wrong. However, before she got married, Camilla had been
in an off-and-on relationship with Andrew for seven years, and she was ready to settle down.
To make matters worse for the heartbroken prince, he watched as the so-called "wedding
of the year" took place between his former love and Andrew. Even the Queen Mother,
who was Charles' grandmother, and his sister Princess Anne attended the nuptials,
marking what many thought to be the end of Charles and Camilla's affair.
Jane Churchill, a royal wedding decorator, said via Vanity Fair,
"Everything in life is timing, and so often time deals you the wrong hand [...] Charles
and Camilla were both quite young when they met, and she was going out with Andrew, and Charles was
abroad and away, and she probably didn't know him as well then, and so she married Andrew."
Many have wondered why Charles and Camilla didn't
initially get married when they first dated in the 1970s. As it turns out,
Camilla's life before meeting Charles may have had some impact on the situation.
As noted by Marie Claire, Charles' great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten,
sent a letter to Charles explaining that Camilla was not a suitable choice, writing,
"I think it is disturbing for women to have experiences if
they have to remain on a pedestal after marriage."
He was, of course, alluding to Camilla's past dating experience. While Charles was encouraged
to play the dating field and sow his wild oats before settling down, the same did not apply to
his prospective brides. If that scrutiny wasn't bad enough, Camilla was reportedly viewed as
common, as she didn't have a title of her own. Ultimately, the royal family reportedly saw her
as a test run for Charles, but never someone who was suitable to be by his side in public.
"Mrs. Parker Bowles is
a great friend of mine. I have a large number of friends I'm terribly lucky to have."
Camilla Parker Bowles' life took another sharp turn when she met Diana Spencer. Camilla and
Charles remained very close after breaking up, and Camilla's approval of Charles' future wife
apparently meant a great deal to him. Camilla supported the union and reportedly saw Diana
as someone she could influence. According to Vanity Fair, biographer Jonathan Dimbleby wrote,
"[Diana] was young enough to be moulded to the role
of wife and mother according to the special needs of the institution."
In fact, while history has pitted these two women against each other,
Diana and Camilla were allegedly quite close at one point. Camilla was 14 years older
than Diana and had experience in the public eye. As a result, Camilla apparently invited
Diana to her and Andrew Parker Bowles' home in the country on a regular basis,
and the two women even supported Charles' polo competitions together.
"Well there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."
You'd think that after a decade of whispers, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles would've
distanced themselves from one another. Instead, the two were seemingly inseparable. For instance,
Camilla made Prince Charles the godfather to her and Andrew's son, Tom Parker Bowles.
By the mid-1980s, Charles and Camilla were allegedly back in
each other's lives romantically and began their sordid affair.
Years of cheating finally led Princess Diana to confront Camilla at a party in 1989.
As Princess Diana revealed in tapes secretly recorded for Andrew Morton's biography of her,
"I said, 'I know what's going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that.'"
Understandably, it was the beginning of the end for both marriages.
Camilla's life drastically changed again when Prince Charles publicly admitted to
their affair. In 1994, Charles gave a sit-down interview to biographer Jonathan Dimbleby,
in which he confessed to being unfaithful to Princess Diana.
When asked if he had maintained his marriage, Charles said,
"Until it became irretrievably broken down. Us both having tried."
Following this revelation, Camilla essentially became a prisoner in her own home because of the
hounding paparazzi. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Camilla later admitted,
"I couldn't really go anywhere. [...] It was horrid. It was a deeply unpleasant time and I
wouldn't want to put my worst enemy through it. I couldn't have survived it without my family."
Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially separated in 1992,
but their divorce wasn't finalized until August 1996.
At the same time, Camilla's union to Andrew Parker Bowles was also collapsing. The couple,
who had been married for two decades, officially called it quits in January 1995.
The couple released an official statement that explained,
"We have grown apart to such an extent that, with the exception of our children
and a lasting friendship, there is little of common interest between us."
Needless to say, all eyes were on Charles and Camilla to see what would happen next.
It reportedly didn't take long for Charles and Camilla to re-establish
their romantic relationship outside of their divorces. As noted by The Guardian,
the heir to the throne quickly came up with a plan to reintroduce Camilla to the public.
Charles was set to celebrate his 50th birthday in 1998, and he reportedly
wanted to use the occasion to give his companion a more substantial public role.
Up until that point, Charles and Camilla hadn't been spotted in public together, and the campaign
to bring Camilla into the royal forefront hinged on a successful re-entry into public life.
Of course, everything changed when Princess Diana unexpectedly died
following a tragic car accident in Paris. After Diana's untimely death,
the plan to bring Camilla into the public eye so soon was quickly abandoned.
You would think that the royal family would've warmed up to the possibility of Camilla Parker
Bowles joining their ranks. While things are certainly better now than they were,
Camilla endured yet more drama when royal family members didn't hold back their thoughts on her.
According to Marie Claire, the queen wanted Camilla "gone" from the royal
circle even after both divorces were finalized. To make matters even worse,
the queen allegedly let Charles know how disappointed she was in him regarding the affair,
according to investigative journalist Tom Bower in "Rebel Prince: The Power and Passion and Defiance
of Prince Charles." After downing a couple drinks, Queen Elizabeth apparently made it clear,
"She would not condone his adultery,
nor forgive Camilla for not leaving Charles alone to allow his marriage to recover."
The queen even reportedly referred to Camilla as "that wicked woman," further saying,
"I want nothing to do with her."
Charles reportedly left the conversation and called Camilla crying,
recounting his mother's harsh words.
After decades of drama, Camilla Parker Bowles' life changed for the better when she finally
married Prince Charles. The couple waited until 2005 to officially tie the knot, and they had
a wedding without much pomp and circumstance. Queen Elizabeth finally came around regarding
the nuptials, too. And, although she didn't attend the wedding ceremony due to her position as head
of the Church of England, she did give the couple her blessing. Prince Charles' goddaughter opened
up to Vanity Fair about the celebrated day and shared what it meant for the couple, saying,
"There was a real sense of triumph at Saint George's Chapel when they came in,
these two people who had gone through so much to get there.
Everybody was so pleased for them — filled with this feeling that they're together at last."
Her thoughts were echoed by decorator Jane Churchill, who told the publication,
"Charles has ended up with his soul mate."
To say that Camilla Parker Bowles' life changed after marrying Prince Charles
is a grave understatement. Not only did she become a member of the royal family,
but she also stepped into the position once held by Princess Diana. Understandably,
the public took issue with this, and Charles' sons, Prince William and Prince Harry,
reportedly had a tough time with the change, too. As noted by The U.S. Sun,
"The relationship between the brothers and the Duchess was always
awkward and tense and was often a case of 'one step forward, two steps back.'"
As it turns out, Camilla was the one who was allegedly nervous about meeting the boys.
In fact, reports suggest that she turned to get a drink when it was suggested she meet William ahead
of his 16th birthday. While the initial meeting between Camilla and William went surprisingly
well, the young prince was reportedly upset that details of the meeting were leaked to the press.
From then on, there was apparently an "icy indifference" between Camilla and the princes.
Basically, Camilla's early days within royal circles do not sound easy at all.
In the 2000s, it seemed as though Camilla Parker Bowles and Prince Charles were settling into
their lives together. The public appeared to accept Camilla as a member of the royal family,
and the pair went about their business with little pushback. Things change rapidly for those in the
public eye, though, and in late 2020, Camilla suffered yet another drastic blow when Season
4 of "The Crown" dropped. The Netflix drama has captivated worldwide audiences, and Season
4 focuses predominantly on Charles and Diana's marriage, including all of its highs and lows.
"Andrew has never adored me like you do, or shown me the same devotion."
Despite the dramatic and overblown nature of the show, "The Crown" reignited public
hatred of Camilla for being the other woman in the relationship that made Princess Diana
so miserable. The revived scrutiny got so bad that Charles and Camilla turned
off their Twitter comments, as they were being mercilessly dragged by the public. With time,
Diana's story has gained even more traction in the public eye,
so it's hard to say if the reinvigorated negativity will die down anytime soon.
Now in her seventies, Camilla Parker Bowles' life is still changing with time. As the direct heir
to the British throne, Prince Charles has been subtly moving people and resources into place
for when he ascends the throne. And in conjunction with his efforts to consolidate the royal family,
Queen Elizabeth made a stunning announcement that caught quite a number of people off guard.
Titles are a big thing in the royal family. When Charles and Camilla got married in 2005,
it was announced that Camilla would adopt the title "princess consort" when Charles takes the
throne. However, during the launch of her Platinum Jubilee, the queen officially announced that it
was her wish for Camilla to adopt the title of "queen consort" when Charles becomes king.
Addressing the general public, the queen noted in her official announcement,
"I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me."
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