April 9, 2024 marks 19 years since King Charles III married Queen Camilla after a lengthy, and controversial romance, that began in the 1970s. Unlike other royal weddings that are televised and watched around the world, Charles and Camilla opted for a much more private ceremony. Though, they did have their families by their side — including Prince William and Prince Harry who cheerfully posed together in a way that seems unimaginable today.
The pair wed in an intimate civil ceremony at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2005 with only 28 guests in attendance. Among them were the King’s sons, and Camilla’s children from her marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes. In this photo, Charles and Camilla posed together as husband and wife for the first time, flanked by their children.
Given the lengths Charles’ son, who were born during his marriage to Princess Diana, go to avoid one another now, it is hard to imagine the family standing in the same room together, let alone posing happily!
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip famously did not attend the wedding ceremony. Due to her role as head of the Church of England, the Queen decided that it was not appropriate for her to be at the wedding of two people who had each divorced their previous spouses.
In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry spoke candidly about his and William’s disapproval of their father’s second marriage, mainly due to their feelings about his infidelity and its impact on their mother, who died in 1997. He wrote that the brothers eventually conceded and agreed to support Charles.
“Despite Willy and me urging him not to, Pa was going ahead. We pumped his hand, wished him well. No hard feelings,” Harry wrote in Spare. “We recognized that he was finally going to be with the woman he loved, the woman he’d always loved.”
Take a nostalgic journey through King Charles III’s bachelor years, from his royal duties to unexpected hobbies, and relationships before his marriage. https://t.co/EmFxJVasrJ
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However, Charles’ parents did join the wedding party for the Service of Prayer and Dedication at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after the ceremony and hosted a reception for the couple in Windsor Castle.
Charles and Camilla’s romance reportedly began around 1970, during a split from her on-off boyfriend — and future husband — Andrew Parker Bowles. Charles joined the British Navy in 1972, which is often thought to be the cause of his split from Camilla, who married Parker Bowles the following year.
Camilla and Charles reportedly reignited their affair around 1979, a year before Charles began dating Princess Diana, who he married 1981. Diana would later call Camilla the “third person” in her marriage to the future king, all but confirming that Charles continued on an affair with his future wife throughout most of his marriage to the mother of his children.
Charles and Diana’s separation was announced in 1992, a year before leaked audio recordings of phone calls between Charles and Camilla confirmed their affair. Camilla’s marriage ended in 1995 but she didn’t appear publicly with Charles until 1999.
Camilla spoke candidly about her tumultuous entrance into the royal family and the vitriol she experienced in the public eye in a rare interview with British Vogue in 2022. “It’s not easy,” she said. “I was scrutinized for such a long time that you just have to find a way to live with it. Nobody likes to be looked at all the time and, you know, criticized … But I think in the end, I sort of rise above it and get on with it. You’ve got to get on with life.”
Before you go, click here to see the 100 best photos of the royal family from the past 20 years.
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