Roughly 50 years has passed since King Charles first met Camilla Parker Bowles (then Camilla Shand) and fell head-over-heels in love with her. But like any good Shakespeare story, their love was not to be … at first. Charles and Camilla's relationship timeline is long and messy, and still suffers issues from their past transgressions, despite the fact that they are now King and Queen.
Charles and Camilla didn't actually date for long before they split and she married Andrew Parker Bowles. Charles would go on to marry as well, making Princess Diana the UK's future queen — at the time. But even marrying other people couldn't keep Charles and Camilla apart.
The whole sordid story has been part of Netflix's royal series The Crown, with particular attention paid to the couple during the November 2020 season. But even those who have seen how The Crown presented the story of Camilla and Charles' romance may be surprised by what actually unfolded in real life. Here are all the facts.
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Early 1970s: Charles & Camilla Meet
There's some debate about when and how exactly Camilla and Charles first met. Vogue reported that some believe the two hit it off at a polo match in 1970, but King Charles' biographer Sally Bedell Smith says that the two were introduced via a mutual friend in 1972. In either case, it was after Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles had recently broken up, giving Charles an in.
1973: Charles & Camilla Break Up, She Marries Andrew Parker Bowles
Charles and Camilla's relationship was short-lived. He went away on a months-long naval posting in the Caribbean in January 1973, leaving Camilla behind and giving Andrew Parker Bowles the perfect opportunity. According to People, historian Hugo Vickers claimed that Charles was "too unsure of himself" to really lock Camilla down, and the more confident Andrew took advantage of that to ask Camilla to marry him while Charles was away. She said yes and the two tied the knot in July 1973.
Charles & Camilla Remain Friendly
Even after Camilla married another man, she and Charles stayed close friends. In 1974, he was even named godfather to Camilla and Andrew's son, Tom. It helps that Charles had a relationship with Camilla's children from day one, considering that he would later become their stepfather.
1981: Charles Marries Princess Diana
With his true love taken, Charles went about finding someone else to become the future queen. He finally settled on the young Lady Diana Spencer (Charles was 12 years older than her), whom he married in 1981. Present at the wedding? Camilla, of course! It's not that unusual for royals to invite their exes to weddings (Harry had both of his high-profile romances at his ceremony), but it was unusual for Charles to have done it considering that he and Camilla weren't quite exes so much as they were very much still in love.
Throughout the '80s, Charles & Camilla's Love Affair Restarts
Although Charles and Camilla were friendly for the duration of his marriage to Diana, at some point it turned back into a romantic connection. There's debate about the exact timeline, with some biographies linking their reconnection to Charles' uncle's 1979 death when Charles was grieving and needed solace and others saying it rekindled in 1986. But considering that Diana said Charles wore cufflinks from Camilla on their honeymoon (they had interlocking engraved "C"s on them and everything), it's more likely that Charles and Camilla never really lost romantic contact.
May 1992: Princess Diana Reveals the Affair in a Tell-All Book
Charles' cheating was common knowledge among friends and staff, but the public found out about it when Diana spilled all her secrets to author Andrew Morton for his book, Diana: Her True Story. Collaborating on a tell-all was unheard of for royals at the time, and her revelations shocked the public and the royal family.
December 1992: Charles & Diana Announce Their Separation
The New York Times reports that Diana and Charles had separated in December 1991, but it wasn't until a year later that they made the information public. Their separation was announced by the prime minister, and Diana heard that it was officially public not from her husband, but on the radio when it was announced.
1993: A Leaked Recording Captures Charles & Camilla's Intimate Conversations
If anyone didn't believe Andrew Morton's book about Charles and Camilla's relationship, they would soon be convinced by a leaked telephone call between the two of them. The couple infamously joked about how they'd like for Charles to become Camilla's underwear or her tampon so he could secretly be with her all the time.
1994: The Then-Prince Admits to Being Unfaithful to Diana
Between Andrew Morton's book and the leaked phone call, Charles really had no choice but to publicly acknowledge his cheating. According to the previously mentioned New York Times article, he did a television interview where he admitted to having been unfaithful to his wife, although he claimed to have tried with her as long as possible. "Until it became irretrievably broken down," he added.
1995-1996: Charles & Camilla Both Get Divorced
After his interview, both Charles and Camilla made moves to exit their marriages. Camilla's divorce was finalized in 1995, with Charles and Diana's divorce becoming official in August 1996. And with that, the path was cleared for Charles and Camilla to finally be together — only it wasn't that simple.
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August 1997: Diana's Death Complicates the Their Relationship
When Princess Diana died a year after her divorce was finalized, Charles and Camilla had just been planning to finally take their relationship public. But with the nation, and his children, mourning Diana, Charles knew that it was no longer the right time to flaunt their relationship. The two wouldn't be seen in public for nearly two more years.
January 1999: Charles & Camilla Make Their First Public Appearance
Finally, in 1999, Charles and Camilla decided to go public. According to the BBC, their first official appearance came during a 50th birthday party for Camilla's sister at the Ritz Hotel in London. After that, they started regularly attending events and functions together as a couple.
February 2005: They Get Engaged, & the Public Is Supportive
By 2005, Charles was ready to finally marry the one woman he'd always loved. He proposed in early February with a ring that reportedly came from the Queen Mother's jewelry collection. At the time, public support for their romance was climbing, with enough years having passed since Diana's death. Author Gyles Brandreth wrote in Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair that 65% of the public agreed that the couple should be free to marry.
April 2005: Charles & Camilla Marry
The duo officially tied the knot in April 2005, but Queen Elizabeth refused to attend. As head of the Church of England, which frowned upon things like divorce, she felt it was her duty to not tacitly support their wedding. However, the Queen eventually came around. Her majesty even gave Camilla the honor of being named Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on Camilla's seventh wedding anniversary.
2020: 'The Crown' Season 4 Reignites Furor Toward the Couple
Season four of Netflix's drama about the royal family came out in November 2020, and it shook Charles and Camilla's world. The season explored the early days of Charles and Diana's tumultuous relationship, and it painted a negative picture of Charles and Camilla and what their cheating did to Diana. Fans became re-enraged at Charles and Camilla, to the point where the Clarence House Twitter had to turn off its comments section. This furor will likely fade just as the original public anger did, but the now 70-year-olds have to be frustrated that this is all coming back up again.
