Charles and Camilla’s love story from scandalous affair to King and Queen

King Charles’s relationship with Queen Camilla has been far from plain-sailing, as their relationship was one of the most scandalous in British history.

What started as an innocent relationship in their youth soon spiralled into one of the most documented royal affairs – with Camilla Parker Bowles shouldering much of the blame for Charles and Diana’s infamous divorce.

It took decades for Camilla to repair her image and winover the nation.

The couple’s Coronation in May once seemed an impossible feat, but due to a masterstroke from the late Queen Elizabeth, Camilla was crowned alongside her husband – and took the title as the country’s new Queen.

Here, Express.co.uk looks back at how Charles and Camilla evolved from a secret affair to a King and Queen in love.

Early doomed romance

Despite meeting in the early Seventies and hitting it off straight away, Charles and Camilla’s relationship did not stand the test of time and they eventually married other people. The King tied the knot with Lady Diana Spencer, later Princess Diana, and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, an Army Officer.

It is widely believed that Camilla was deemed unsuitable for the role of royal wife, particularly the wife of the heir to the throne. At that time, royal attitudes ruled out the possibility of heirs marrying ‘commoners’ instead of a princess or a member of the aristocracy.

Both Charles and Camilla had two children: the King and Diana had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry; Camilla and Andrew had a son, Tom, and a daughter, Laura.

But their marriages proved unsuccessful, with all parties engaging in extramarital affairs. Perhaps most famous was the affair between Charles and Camilla, whose romance was blamed for the gradual breakdown of the then-Prince and Princess of Wales’s relationship.

Reputation recovery

A PR push, nicknamed ‘Operation PB’, was carefully choreographed by the then-Prince’s advisers to make the couple’s relationship appear appropriate and improve public perception of Camilla.

She was formally introduced to the Queen in 2000 and seen publicly in the company of Her Majesty during her Golden Jubilee two years later. Camilla’s relationship with the Queen was a slow burner, with the monarch not fully accepting of her son’s partner at the beginning.

According to biographer Tom Bower’s book ‘Rebel Prince’, Charles spoke to his mother about welcoming Camilla into the Royal Family only a few months after Diana’s death, but the Queen was allegedly unhappy about her son’s relationship with his former mistress.

Mr Bower wrote that the monarch had “several martinis and to Charles’ surprise she replied forcefully [that] she would not condone his adultery, nor forgive Camilla for not leaving Charles alone to allow his marriage to recover”.

The author also claimed that the Queen referred to Camilla as “that wicked woman,” a harsh label that resulted in a tearful phone call from Charles to Camilla.

Putting down royal roots

Nonetheless, the then-Prince of Wales was determined to make his relationship with Camilla work. By 2003, the couple had moved in together, with Camilla moving into Clarence House, where an office was set up for the future royal.

In 2005, Charles and Camilla announced their engagement, revealing they would marry a couple of months later, on April 9. Charles said: “Mrs Parker Bowles and I are absolutely delighted. It will be a very special day for us and our families.”

Upon their marriage, Camilla was styled as the Duchess of Cornwall. It was decided she would take Charles’ secondary title out of respect for Diana who held the title of Princess of Wales at the time of her death.

Given that both Charles and Camilla were divorcees, they wed in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. The Queen and Prince Philip did not attend the ceremony but later joined the couple for a blessing at St. George’s Chapel and hosted a reception afterwards.

Makings of a Queen

From then on, Camilla worked tirelessly to prove herself as a dedicated working royal, taking on charitable work and championing causes close to her heart. She also accompanied her husband on several engagements, proving herself a deserving Consort to the future King.

While Camilla has rarely spoken about her and Charles’s affair, she has opened up about how difficult it was to deal with the public scrutiny she faced as the Prince’s mistress. In 2017, she told You magazine: “I couldn’t really go anywhere. But the children came and went as normal — they just got on with it — and so did great friends.

“It was horrid. It was a deeply unpleasant time and I wouldn’t want to put my worst enemy through it. I couldn’t have survived it without my family.”

She added: “You also have to laugh at yourself because if you can’t, you may as well give up. I sometimes think to myself, ‘Who is this woman? It can’t possibly be me.’ And that’s really how you survive. Also, having so many friends who, if I ever even vaguely look like getting uppity, which touch wood I never have, they would just say, ‘Look, come on, pull yourself together! Don’t be so bloody grand!'”

While on their wedding day, it was decided that Camilla would be named Princess Consort upon Charles’ accession, rumours circulated that he may have different ideas for his wife’s title.

Last year, to mark her own Accession Day, Queen Elizabeth II put all speculation to bed when she expressed her “sincere wish” that her daughter-in-law becomes Queen Consort.

Her Majesty said: “I was blessed that in Prince Philip I had a partner willing to carry out the role of consort and unselfishly make the sacrifices that go with it. It is a role I saw my own mother perform during my father’s reign. When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”

Both Camilla and Charles expressed their gratitude for the monarch’s public endorsement, noting the significance of her declaration.

King Charles and Queen Camilla 

The day after the Queen died, Charles delivered his first television broadcast, during which he officially referred to Camilla as Queen Consort for the first time. “I know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much,” he said.

A few days later, the couple took their place on the royal thrones for the first time since the Queen’s death as they met with 900 members of the legislative body and members of the House of Lords.

On the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, Charles and Camilla hosted an official state event for world leaders. Among the guests were over 30 members of overseas royalty, including King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, and US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The new King and Queen then led members of the Royal Family at the funeral, on Monday, September 19, 2022, which saw foreign leaders, dignitaries, and other royals gathered in their masses to mourn the monarch.

Since Charles’s accession, the pair have had jam-packed schedules, leading the Royal Family at major events, carrying out an array of public engagements and just last month, embarking on their first overseas state visit as King and Queen Consort.

In what has widely been deemed a great success, Charles and Camilla recently travelled to Germany for a three-day visit to Berlin. The King addressed Bundestag — the German Parliament — marking the first time a monarch has done so, and conducted a range of engagements, including meeting the country’s Eurovision entry and laying a wreath for those who lost their lives during World War 2.

In a showing of the trip’s success, a new Express.co.uk poll found overwhelming support among readers in favour of the King carrying out more state visits and wielding his power to forge ties with the world.

Then, just days after the couple’s return to the UK, Buckingham Palace made a major announcement, confirming Camilla will drop the ‘Queen Consort’ title and instead be known simply as ‘Queen’.

The Palace’s decision to drop the word ‘consort’ from the invite demonstrates just how far Camilla has come from being the vilified “other woman” in Charles and Diana’s marriage. When the two married 18 years ago, just seven percent of Britons thought Camilla should one day become queen. And in a 2010 interview, even Charles himself appeared unsure of his wife’s future title. “That’s well … we’ll see, won’t we,” he said when asked whether Camilla would become queen.

As public acceptance has increased, with Camilla even easing into the affection of some, her title change is a necessary move from the Palace, according to a historian.

Marlene Koenig told Express.co.uk: “Camilla should be called Queen. It is precedent for the King’s wife to take on that title,” referring to Queen Consorts of the past, she said: “They have all be known as ‘Queen’ then their first names, such as Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI who became the Queen Mother, and Queen Mary, the wife of King George V.”

Charles and Camilla will be crowned side-by-side at their Coronation in Westminster Abbey this weekend.