The marriage of the then Prince Charles and Camilla was the culmination of a love affair that spanned five decades, scandalizing England, the greater world, and Queen Elizabeth II herself.
However, after surviving divorces, the tragic death of Princess Diana , and public ridicule, the king and queen consort have emerged as a strong team, now charged with leading the fractured British royal family into the future. In the summer of , the fun-loving year-old debutante Camilla Shand reportedly met year-old Prince Charles at a polo match at Great Windsor Park.
They had two children, Laura and Tom. But according to Princess Diana, the wedding festivities were dampened when, days before the nuptials, she discovered a gift Prince Charles had made for Camilla. Unable to stay away from each other, and unhappy in their respective marriages, Prince Charles and Camilla reportedly began having an affair in In , Princess Diana confronted Camilla about the affair at a birthday party, in what she called one of her bravest moments.
It would be much easier! One year later, in , the divorce between Prince Charles and Princess Diana was finalized. For Camilla, it brought some relief from years of extreme public scrutiny. On April 9, , a beaming Prince Charles and a visibly nervous Camilla were married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. The marriage was then blessed at St.
Prince Harry and Prince William were in attendance. Upon her marriage, Camilla was styled the Duchess of Cornwall. In , the queen honored the Duchess of Cornwall with a place on the Privy Council, an advisory board to the monarch.
