You'd think that marrying a real-life prince would be a fairytale — but in the case of
King Charles and Queen consort Camilla, the path to happily ever after was anything but.
To tell the story of Charles and Camilla, we have to go all the way back to 1971.
As told by James Panton and Kenneth John Panton in their 2011 book, "Historical Dictionary
of the British Monarchy," Charles and Camilla first crossed paths at a polo match — this
certainly doesn't come as a shock, given Charles' affinity for the game and Camilla's passion
for all things equestrian.
The authors attested to Camilla's unabashed approach to the then-prince, noting that she
pursued him.
In a very daring example, Camilla approached Charles in a nightclub following their initial
meeting, taking the opportunity to present the "historical" reason why they should spark
a romance.
She reportedly said at the time:
"My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress, so how about it?"
From there, the two were often seen together.
According to Penny Junor's book, "The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair
That Rocked the Crown," Charles admitted that their early romance was, quote, "blissful,
peaceful, and mutually happy."
Of course, things wouldn't stay that way.
In the ITV documentary, "The Real Camilla: HRH the Duchess of Cornwall," it was noted
that Lord Mountbatten — Charles' great uncle — was not a fan of his relationship with
Camilla.
"You mean the donkey-walloper?
Parker-Bowles?"
According to the documentary, Mountbatten reportedly advised Charles, quote, "lovely
for you two to have a fling, but this absolutely cannot end in marriage."
So what was it exactly that the royals didn't like about Camilla?
In those early days, Camila was reportedly known for being very lively, pretty, and loved
drinking with friends — so, all in all, pretty normal behavior for a young person
in that or any era.
But the royals reportedly saw her as a nonstarter given her boldness and reputation, and they
worried that she would not be looked at as "aristocratic" enough for the then-prince.
It seemed as though Charles and Camilla were simply not meant to be, and their early relationship
in the 1970s fizzled as Charles pursued his naval career.
When he returned from his naval post, Charles learned that Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles
— her longtime boyfriend — were finally tying the knot, and the prince was said to
be devastated.
After learning the news, Charles reportedly wrote to a friend, quote, "I suppose the feeling
of emptiness will pass eventually," noting that he no longer had someone to return to.
And so it was — Camilla and Andrew married at the Guards' Chapel on July 4, 1973, with
the Queen Mother and Charles' sister Princess Anne in attendance no less.
Camilla's marriage was not enough, however, for her to stop seeing Charles.
According to the ITV documentary, Camilla quickly returned to Charles' gaze, given her
husband's own infidelity.
A source revealed in the documentary:
"She was unhappy that she was the betrayed woman.
This was the real problem [...] That's what sent her back into the arms of Prince Charles."
In the 1970s, even though Charles was one of the most eligible bachelors in the world,
Charles maintained his relationship with the then-married Camilla, with the two continuing
to chat regularly.
While Camilla was pregnant with her first child, she and Charles would make it a point
to see one another at polo events, the Daily Mail reported.
When her son, Tom Parker Bowles, was born, Charles even became his godfather.
Throughout the 1970s, Charles and Camilla made it a point to ride together, frequently
enjoying the outdoors at the Badminton estate.
They spent so much time together, in fact, that Charles purchased Highgrove Estate — located
in Gloucestershire — because, for one reason, it was situated close to Camilla's residence.
By 1977, Camilla was pregnant with her second child, but shortly after welcoming baby No.
2, Charles and Camilla reignited their romantic relationship.
This was, in part, because Camilla had reportedly given up on her husband, Andrew Parker Bowles,
who had a sordid reputation all his own.
Charles and Camilla were reportedly once again romantic with one another by 1978, though
mostly behind closed doors.
"But what we have is special."
"I know.
And that's what makes things so confusing."
Charles was in a predicament — he was in love with a married woman, but he needed to
marry eventually.
Cue Diana Spencer, the 19-year-old who was all but chosen for the then-prince.
After only a dozen or so dates, Charles proposed to Diana in 1981, and the United Kingdom quickly
celebrated their future king and queen.
When asked by journalists at their engagement announcement if they were in love, they responded:
"Of course."
"Whatever 'in love' means."
As it turns out, Diana said she was traumatized over the remark, and revisited the very moment
in the documentary, "Diana: In Her Own Words."
Diana revealed that she went to Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, for help shortly thereafter.
As Diana recalled,
"I went to the top lady, sobbing and I said, 'What do I do?
I'm coming to you, what do I do?'
And she said, 'I don't know what you should do, Charles is hopeless.'
And that was it, that was help."
They wed in July of that same year — and their rocky marriage never snuffed out the
torch Charles carried for Camilla.
By 1986, five years after Diana and Charles married, the then-prince had rekindled his
romantic relationship with Camilla, a fact of which Diana was keenly aware.
Recounting the incident years later, Diana confronted her husband's mistress at a birthday
party for Camilla's sister in 1989.
During that tense conversation, she told Camilla plainly:
"I want my husband."
Rumblings about Charles and Camilla's relationship plagued the then-prince throughout his marriage
to Diana.
The two had already separated in 1992, but all hell broke loose in 1993 when the "Camillagate"
tapes ravaged the front covers of publications all over the world.
What happened was that a recorded phone conversation between Charles and Camilla had been leaked
to the press.
First showing up in the Australian publication, New Idea, and shortly thereafter in The Sun,
the transcript of the conversation was shocking, particularly for what it revealed about the
married heir to the British throne.
We'll spare you the secondhand embarrassment of some of the call's details, but suffice
it to say, the conversation ended with, quote, "Love you forever" and "Bye, darling."
That made it abundantly clear that the pair still had a romantic connection, despite both
being married to others.
"We both feel the same, and want the same."
Any hopes royal-watchers might've had that Charles and Diana might reconcile were likely
dashed by this point.
While they had been separated since 1992, Charles and Diana officially called it quits
in 1996, not too long after Camilla formally ended her marriage in 1995.
In fact, it was reportedly at Queen Elizabeth's urging that the royal couple ultimately divorced,
as the negative press and outlandish rumors were overpowering.
Diana certainly advocated for her own best interest amid her divorce proceedings, and
walked away with a "generous settlement" and a residence at Kensington Palace.
While she was able to keep the title of the Princess of Wales, Diana was forced to give
up her "HRH" title, and of course, any future aspirations of being queen — though by that
point she probably didn't mind.
And for Charles' part, the then-prince was finally free to officially pursue the relationship
with the woman he'd loved for years.
As reported by The Guardian, Charles was keen to reintroduce Camilla into royal society.
It should come as no surprise that her image needed a significant reboot, as she had been
painted as "the other woman" in the royal relationship for so long.
But tragic circumstances made that reintroduction nearly impossible.
On August 31, 1997, Diana Spencer was tragically killed in a car accident in Paris.
Any plans to tie himself publicly to Camilla were abandoned by Charles in the aftermath
of Diana's death, as the world — and his sons, Princes William and Harry — were mourning
their sudden and horrific loss.
By summer 1997, Charles approached Queen Elizabeth about bringing Camilla into the royal circles,
according to Tom Bowers' book, "Rebel Prince: The Power and Passion and Defiance of Prince
Charles."
The queen — alleged in the book as having drunk several martinis at that point — did
not give her son the answer he was surely looking for.
Bowers wrote:
"To Charles's surprise she replied forcefully: She would not condone his adultery, nor forgive
Camilla for not leaving Charles alone to allow his marriage to recover."
Bower further revealed that her majesty called Camilla, quote, "that wicked woman", and that
she wanted nothing to do with her.
By the early 2000s, Queen Elizabeth was said to still be very stubborn regarding all Camilla-related
matters, despite the couple having the support of Elizabeth's younger sister, Princess Margaret
— who'd also had a rather sordid royal love affair that ended badly.
While Margaret was on Charles and Camilla's side, the queen was staunchly against the
relationship.
It was only after the Queen Mother died in 2002 that Elizabeth started to defrost the
ice-cold tension — but things still remained cold for quite some time.
By 2005, Charles and Camilla were finally heading to the altar.
Because both had been divorced, Charles and Camilla planned to tie the knot in a civil
ceremony.
Nevertheless, the lead-up to the understated royal wedding was fraught with tension.
The Mirror reported that Queen Elizabeth "continued to exclude" the soon-to-be Duchess of Cornwall
from official royal dinners and ceremonies.
Elizabeth also announced that she would not be attending Charles and Camilla's wedding,
and though she hung her decision on her high role within the Church of England — which
would have supposedly clashed with the civil ceremony — it wasn't exactly a good look
for the couple.
Despite the queen's pointed absence, Charles and Camilla finally tied the knot that year,
more than 30 years after they had initially met.
The celebratory day, however, was not without its own unique stresses.
For starters, the morning of the wedding, Camilla was in bed with a sinus infection,
and the ladies around her were genuinely worried that she wouldn't be well enough to attend
her own wedding.
Vanity Fair noted that it took four people to convince Camilla to get out of bed on the
actual wedding day — it was only when her sister threatened to put on Camilla's wedding
dress herself that the bride-to-be collected the strength to get ready.
As for the wedding itself, the civil ceremony was said to be laidback — by royal wedding
standards, at least — and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip hosted a reception afterward.
Despite the seeming olive branch from the queen, The Mirror noted that the monarch didn't
speak to Camilla at the reception at all, and only interacted with her for "52 seconds"
during an official photo op.
When Charles and Camilla married, she became the Duchess of Cornwall.
She also became the Princess of Wales by marriage, but has not publicly used the title due to
its connection to the late Diana Spencer.
During those early years as a working royal, Camilla faced an uphill battle, as the public
was still very much skeptical of her and the role she played in the demise of Charles and
Diana's marriage.
Still, now that she was officially a member of the family, the palace was determined to
rehabilitate Camilla's image, with E! News' chief news correspondent Melanie Bromley attesting
to the "baby steps" approach that was taken.
The "baby steps" approach the palace took when it came to Camilla's public life seemed
to work — for a while.
Camilla's hard work and head-down approach proved that she was ready to put in the diligence
necessary for the job, and some even credited her for making the then-Prince Charles seem
less stuffy and a bit more down-to-earth.
Some months before Queen Elizabeth II's September 2022 death, she made an important announcement.
During her Platinum Jubilee celebration in the spring of 2022, Elizabeth made her intentions
surrounding Camilla's future title known, writing to her subjects:
"When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and
his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that,
when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own
loyal service."
In response, Charles said that he was, quote, "deeply conscious of the honor represented
by my mother's wish."
The royal family has indeed upheld Queen Elizabeth's wish.
Upon announcing the monarch's death on September 8, 2022, the royal family referred to Camilla
by her new title, writing:
"The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to
London tomorrow."
As the world gets accustomed to life without Queen Elizabeth, it seems clear that her successors
in Charles and Camilla have finally found the acceptance they've sought for decades.