For me, it will always be a mystery that King Charles was able to leave Princess Diana for another woman. Of course, when you know and consider what happened behind the scenes, it becomes a little more logical.
King Charles’ love story with Camilla Parker Bowles was not divine by any stretch, but it was undoubtedly human.
Today, the high-profile couple have been married for 14 years and are still in love – despite all the tragedies, press scrutiny, and scandals.
According to the Queen Consort, one key ingredient has been crucial for maintaining their long-lasting romance…
The relationship between Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has been a key part of the royal timeline over the past 30-odd years.
Now, King Charles III and Camilla are entering a new phase of their lives – personally and professionally. After the Queen’s death, new challenges await. Both have been handed new responsibilities and titles. However, there are many indications that their daily routines as a married couple will continue the same way as before.
At the moment, both Charles and Camilla are out on their first official trip in their ”new” kingdom after Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II passed away. Among other things, King Charles and the Queen Consort hosted a reception in Edinburgh, Scotland, to celebrate British South Asian communities.
The transition is a challenge for Charles, but he knows what to expect. He was always destined to be King, while Camilla’s future within the royal house has been debated and uncertain. No one knew what would happen to Charles’ wife before the Queen, earlier this year, expressed a wish for her daughter-in-law to be given the title of Queen Consort.
Charles has always been determined to have Camilla by his side throughout his reign. Their love story goes way back, and it has been a roller-coaster ride – so it’s no wonder Charles finally wants to give Camilla a chance to shine as Queen’s Consort.
When King Charles held his first speech as a monarch, he specifically addressed Camilla, stating: “I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla. In recognition of her loyal public service since our marriage 17 years ago, she becomes my Queen Consort.”
As of today, Charles and Camilla have proven their devotion to one another beyond any doubt, though it’s been a tough ride.
Born into an aristocratic British family, Camilla Parker Bowles first met Charles in 1972 when she was 24. Their pair allegedly engaged in an affair while Charles was still married to the late, beloved Diana, Princess of Wales, and the romance was brought to the public eye.
“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana famously said in a 1995 interview.
In 1989, Diana confronted Camilla over the affair, telling her to back off.
“I know what’s going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that,” Camilla recalled Diana saying, as quoted by Town & Country.
“[Diana] said to me: ‘You’ve got everything you ever wanted. You’ve got all the men in the world falling in love with you and you’ve got two beautiful children, what more do you want?’”
Things continued as normal, at least from the public’s perspective. But it didn’t take long before Charles and Diana’s fairytale life was history. In 1992, the couple announced their separation, though both continued with their official royal duties. Four years later, in August of 1996, they reached a final agreement for the divorce.
Not helped by the sudden, tragic passing of Diana in a car accident in Paris, Charles and Camilla were largely vilified after going on to pursue a romance with each other.
Yet despite the public not necessarily being Team Camilla, the couple got married in 2005. As the years went by, though, Camilla gradually took on a bigger role within the Royal Family.
The Queen’s official approval was yet needed, but in 2000 she attended a 60th birthday party for the King of Greece, doing so with the knowledge that Camilla would be there.
When Charles and Camilla got married in 2005, it was decided that Camila’s title would be that of “Princess Consort”. As recently as 2021, that was confirmed on the Royal Family’s website.
The website read: “As was explained at the time of their wedding in April 2005, it is intended that The Duchess will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales Accedes to The Throne.”
Nevertheless, Camilla’s position continued to be debated.
In a poll by YouGov last year, only 13 percent of Brits thought that Camilla should become Queen when Charles ascended the throne. Interestingly, 28 percent believed she should not be given any title at all.
However, the relatively new TV movie The Real Camilla gave many people another impression of Camilla. The documentary, which premiered in 2018, aimed at providing an intimate look at Camilla and her enduring love and marriage to Charles. Camilla had never done anything like this before and usually didn’t like doing public interviews. But both producers and the viewers got a somewhat fresh portrayal of the new Queen Consort.
“She was rather an enigma. And I think she was greatly pleased by the film. It shows her to be this incredibly decent human being. She’s never been able to show that before. So I think it was a great experience for her, too,” producer Juliet Rice told Fox News.
According to the film’s creators, there have long been misconceptions about Camilla because of everything that happened around Diana.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about what went on there… And throughout all that coverage, the ’80s and beyond, she’s never said a word. We didn’t talk to her about that, but it was nice to see her as a human, a relatively normal human being… As the years go on, she’s becoming a great matriarch of the royal family… I think she has become a great support system for the younger royals,” Juliet Rice said.
In one of the most heartwarming highlights of the movie, Camilla and Charles are seen sincerely interacting with each other, despite the cameras rolling. Producer Juliet Rice also shared some of Camilla’s secrets behind her long-lived marriage to King Charles.
“She’s an incredibly good listener. She and Prince Charles support each other brilliantly. Even during public appearances, they have a real synergy together. It’s rather lovely to see. And they have a real laugh together. It’s quite something, doing the job that they do. And they do it brilliantly together. They’re a really strong double act.”
But this is not the first time we’ve been served with a deeper insight into Charles and Camilla’s union. Earlier this year, Camilla was interviewed by Vogue in connection to her 75th birthday.
In that rare interview, Camilla revealed that the key to a happy marriage is finding time to decompress together. She admitted that balancing her personal life with all her responsibilities is difficult, but she and Charles are aware of the challenges.
Therefore, they usually try to find a moment during the day when they escape and have time for themselves. Camilla said they usually “sit down together, have a cup of tea, and discuss the day.”
“It’s not easy sometimes, but we do always try to have a point in the day when we meet. Sometimes it’s like ships passing in the night, but we always sit down together and have a cup of tea and discuss the day. We have a moment,” Camilla shared.
“It’s lovely to catch up when we have a bit of time. You know when we go away, the nicest thing is that we sit and read our books in different corners of the same room. It’s very relaxing because you know you don’t have to make conversation. You just sit and be together.”
It warms the heart to see a couple who have been together for so long and still display affection for one another.
Marriage requires a lot of hard work from both spouses every single day, especially when you are a very public figure.
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