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Britain\u2019s Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles leave the Ritz Hotel in London, the first time that the couple, who have been friends for more than 25 years, have appeared together in public, Thursday, Jan. 28, 1999. (AP Photo\/Alastair Grant, File)<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles leave the Ritz Hotel in London, the first time that the couple, who have been friends for more than 25 years, have appeared together in public, Thursday, Jan. 28, 1999. (AP Photo\/Alastair Grant, File)<\/p>\n
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The road between the time they met in the 1970s and their marriage on April 9, 2005, was rocky.<\/p>\n
Charles, then a young naval officer, fell in love but was soon sent to sea for eight months. While he was away, Camilla accepted the proposal of a dashing cavalry officer.<\/p>\n
But they remained friends, even as Charles\u2019 courtship and marriage to Lady Diana Spencer<\/a> played out before an adoring nation in 1981. And they were more than friends when both of their marriages crumbled in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n Many in Britain blamed Camilla for the extramarital affair that torpedoed his marriage to Diana, the glamorous young mother of Princes William and Harry who was adored for her style and the human touch she brought to her charity work. That resentment flared when \u201cthe People\u2019s Princess\u201d died in a Paris car crash<\/a> in 1997, five years after her messy, public split from Charles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Prince Charles kisses his bride, Princess Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, July 29, 1981, after their wedding. (AP Photo, File)<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Prince Charles kisses his bride, Princess Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, July 29, 1981, after their wedding. (AP Photo, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The crash thrust Camilla back into the shadows.<\/p>\n Over time, she was slowly reintroduced to the public, starting with a 1999 event where she and Charles made their first public appearance as a couple. There were meetings with Queen Elizabeth II, as well as with William and Harry.<\/p>\n Still, there were questions. Should a divorced man<\/a> be king? Could Camilla ever be queen?<\/p>\n But eventually the time was right.<\/p>\n A quiet wedding<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave the Guildhall, Windsor, Saturday, April 9, 2005, following their civil wedding ceremony. (Peter Tarry, Pool Photo via AP, File)<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave the Guildhall, Windsor, Saturday, April 9, 2005, following their civil wedding ceremony. (Peter Tarry, Pool Photo via AP, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The union came on April 9, 2005, in a modest civil ceremony in Windsor \u2014 just down the road from the 1,000-year-old castle that is a second home for British royals. Instead of the pageantry that marked Charles\u2019 wedding to Diana \u2014 an extravaganza watched by millions around the world \u2014 Britain got a union between 50-something divorcees.<\/p>\n The bride wore a cream silk chiffon dress and matching coat, with a lace-trimmed straw hat. The groom wore a black tailcoat and gray tie. William and Harry attended, as did Camilla\u2019s two children. In total, there were 30 guests.<\/p>\n A blessing ceremony at the castle\u2019s St. George\u2019s Chapel later that day was attended by 800 people, including the groom\u2019s parents, Elizabeth and Prince Philip.<\/p>\n There were a few boos from the crowd \u2014 presumably from Diana fans \u2014 but mostly cheers. One banner read: \u201cLet he who is without sin cast the first stone.\u201d<\/p>\n There were waves, but no kiss.<\/p>\n A lasting union<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FILE _ Britain\u2019s Prince Charles is flanked by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as he tastes a pint of Guinness during a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre in west London, to celebrate its 25th anniversary in the run-up to St Patrick\u2019s Day, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (Arthur Edwards, Pool via AP, File)<\/p>\n FILE _ Britain\u2019s Prince Charles is flanked by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as he tastes a pint of Guinness during a visit to the Irish Cultural Centre in west London, to celebrate its 25th anniversary in the run-up to St Patrick\u2019s Day, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (Arthur Edwards, Pool via AP, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Their union has now lasted five years longer than Charles\u2019 marriage to Diana and shows no signs of faltering.<\/p>\n Julie Gottman, co-founder of The Gottman Institute, which studies relationships, said Charles and Camilla appear to embody many of the characteristics needed for a strong marriage: trust, commitment and a sense of shared purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore anything, they had a friendship,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd when you have a relationship in which friendship is the foundation, you\u2019re much more likely to really succeed in marriage and a committed relationship because that foundation is already there.\u201d<\/p>\n The public mood has continued to soften in the years since Charles married the woman then known as Camilla Parker Bowles.<\/p>\n Camilla, 77, has taken on roles at almost 100 charities, championing issues that range from promoting literacy to supporting victims of domestic violence and fighting child sexual exploitation. Some of her causes pushed the boundaries of the royal family, known for supporting worthy but non-controversial charities. For the public, it seemed as if she was in touch with the modern world.<\/p>\n Her style is down to earth. Her sense of humor is self-deprecating. Just like Charles, she loves dogs and horses. More to the point, she seems to make the king happy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Britain\u2019s King Charles III holds up flowers he was given as he leaves after a visit to University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in London, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo\/Kin Cheung, File)<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s King Charles III holds up flowers he was given as he leaves after a visit to University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in London, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo\/Kin Cheung, File)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Strength and stay<\/p>\n George Gross, a royal historian at King\u2019s College London, said the relationship reminds him of that between Charles\u2019 parents. Elizabeth described Philip as her \u201cstrength and stay\u2019\u2019 in her Golden Wedding anniversary speech, recognizing his unwavering support and partnership throughout their 70-year marriage<\/a> and her long reign.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they have managed to find this way of making it work, and I do think feeding off each other in this strength of resilience, because I think you have to be resilient and if you count the number of, in fact it\u2019s very difficult to count, the number of engagements they do every year multiplied by those 20 years of marriage, it\u2019s thousands,\u201d Gross said.<\/p>\n The relationship has been further challenged by Charles\u2019 cancer diagnosis<\/a>. The king briefly cancelled his public engagements for more than two months last year after revealing that he was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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