Duchess Camilla
Her arduous path to the heart of the British
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla have redeemed themselves.
© Peter Rhys Williams/Shutterstock
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla – a drama in many acts. It took 34 years for the two to officially find each other.
Queen Elizabeth II (95) would like Duchess Camilla (74) to one day bear the title “Queen Consort” alongside the heir to the throne Prince Charles (73). In a statement on her 70th jubilee, the Queen officially announced that this was her sincere wish. A message that not only “touches” Charles and Camilla, as they stated.
It is actually undisputed that the wife of the future king bears this title. But not with the story of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla. Camilla has long been blamed for the broken marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana (1961-1997). Lady Di said in an interview with BBC after Charles split in 1995 that they had a “marriage of three”.
relationship with no future
And she wasn’t wrong about that. Charles and Camilla met in 1971. However, the hopes for a life together were small: Camilla was neither a virgin nor did she belong to the British aristocracy – the relationship had no future. The men are said to have run after the smart and self-confident woman. So in 1973, the London native got engaged to on-off boyfriend Andrew Parker Bowles and married him that same year. Although members of the royal family were at the wedding, one was missing: Charles.
Charles and Camilla transformed their relationship into a platonic friendship, but it didn’t always stay that way. It is said that Camilla’s husband knew of an affair between the two, but had no problem with it, as he had numerous love affairs himself. However, the affair ended temporarily when Diana entered Charles’s life.
Provisionally. It is not known when and how intensely it went on between the two. The fact that Camilla put a lasting strain on Charles and Diana’s relationship became official with the legendary BBC interview at the latest. Charles admitted in this 1994 interview that his relationship with Camilla rekindled after his marriage to Diana was “irretrievably destroyed” in 1986. Charles and Diana got divorced, as did Camilla and Andrew.
Much hate for her love
Two years after Princess Diana’s death, Charles and Camilla gradually went public with their relationship – knowing full well that they will have to endure a lot of hate to do so. They expected their relationship with the British in small steps: 1999 the first joint appearance, 2001 the first public kiss, 2003 Camilla’s entry into Clarence House.
In 2005 they announced their engagement, prompting over 900 hate letters to be sent to Clarence House, some even having to be handed to the police. On April 9, 2005, the two were married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Town Hall – because of their divorce, they were banned from having a church wedding. The Queen did not appear at the civil wedding itself, but did attend the wedding ceremony that followed in the chapel at Windsor Castle. And finally, 34 years after they first developed feelings for each other, Camilla has officially become the ‘Duchess of Cornwall’.
But the public wasn’t ready yet. For almost a year, Camilla had to hide in her house, in one Interview 2017 with the “Mail on Sunday” She described the situation as “prison” at the time: “It was abhorrent. It was a deeply unpleasant time that I wouldn’t even wish on my worst enemies.”
Rocky road to the hearts of the British
The fact that Charles and Camilla, despite all the circumstances, did not allow themselves to be dissuaded from their love is now respected. Or like them British Daily Mail puts it today: “She was public enemy number one – but found her way into Britain’s heart”. Today she is admired for her charity work, supports Prince Charles in his representative duties and campaigns for animal rights and the homeless as well as for issues such as domestic violence, diabetes and illiteracy.
If there were any doubts about Camilla’s reverence, they should now be finally dispelled by the Queen’s words: “It is my sincere wish that when the time comes, Camilla will be known as the ‘Queen Consort’ “.