The Relationship of Charles and Camilla

Camilla Parker-Bowles and Prince Charles always had a very close and intimate relationship.

They first met at a polo match in 1970 near Windsor. Charles, at that time, was terribly in love with Camilla, but due to his other affairs Camilla ended up marrying Andrew Parker-Bowles, one of Charles' closest friends (their child Tom is Charles' godson) in 1973 (Stritof 1).

However, Camilla and Charles maintained an affair for the next 35 years, which was not interrupted by Charles' marriage with Princess Diana. In fact, Camilla played a significant role in choosing Diana as Charles' desperately searched for wife in the 1980's by giving him the advice to marry Diana (Holden 79 ff.). Even though Camilla's and Charles' affair became public due to the Camillagate scandal in 1993, they still remained a couple and finally married in 2005. The fact that Charles could still marry her even though she is divorced makes him the first future King of England with a divorced wife.

Camilla is now a respected and acknowledged member of the British Royal Family (ibid. 47), even though she was not accepted by Queen Elizabeth at the beginning.

An interesting fact is that Camilla is Alice Keppell's great-granddaughter, who was the favourite mistress of Edward VII, Charles' great-great-grandfather (Stritof 1).

Sources:

Holden, Anthony. Der wankende Thron. Hamburg: Hoffmann und Campe, 1994.

Stritof, Sheri & Bob. "Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles." About.com. 30 April 2010 <http://marriage.about.com/od/royalty/p/princecharles.htm>