True happiness together
They’ve not always had it easy – but nobody can deny the lasting love between Charles and Camilla…
Their happiness together has long been obvious. Charles and his second wife, Camilla, joke their way through many engagements, and revel in each other’s company. After some turbulent years, they have found their happy ending with a public that embraces their union, too.
There was the time, in 2015, when the Duchess of Cornwall couldn’t stop laughing as a bumblebee made its way up her husband’s suit jacket, during a tour in New Zealand.
In 2017, during a tour of
Canada, they got the giggles at some ‘throat singing’. And an image of a beaming Charles taking his wife for a spin in a vintage MG during a historic first Royal visit to Cuba in 2019 became their
Christmas card.
Laughter has been such a cornerstone of Charles and Camilla’s union. A recent moment to make us smile was in March. Visiting the Irish Cultural Centre, London, on St Patrick’s Day, Charles was given a lesson in how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness, tipping it at the correct angle. Apparently, Charles got impatient waiting for it to settle, and said, ‘How much longer are we going to have to wait for it?’ He then got white foam on his nose taking his first sip, leaving Camilla in fits of laughter. She ‘discreetly’ mentioned the foam to him, and he joined her in chuckling!
A chance meeting at a polo match in 1970 marked the beginning of Camilla Shand’s relationship with Prince
Charles. The two – both
23 – began dating, but their romance cooled when the future King was called away on Naval duties overseas.
Having always remained close over the years, Charles and Camilla are thought to have rekindled their physical relationship in 1986, regardless of both being married.
According to the BBC, Queen Elizabeth refused to meet Camilla for a long time, despite Charles being smitten with her. However, that all changed when Her Majesty accepted an invitation to King Constantine of Greece’s 60th birthday party at Charles’s residence, Highgrove.
Elizabeth finally agreeing to meet her son’s partner was a huge step forward for the Royal Family and for public relations.
The Prince of Wales
announced his engagement to Camilla in February 2005, having lived with her at Clarence House from 2003. And on 9 April 2005, Charles and Camilla tied the knot in a lowkey civil ceremony, at Windsor Guildhall, followed by an official blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Their easy chemistry was obvious, even the official photographer was impressed: ‘As soon as they looked at each other, there was a sparkle in their eyes – that’s when the magic happened. You feel like they are a young couple in love.’
And, as journalist Penny Junor put it, ‘They had so much in common, their brains kind of worked in the same way. He didn’t meet anyone else who quite matched up to her.’
Fast-forward to April 2020, and this Royal couple were celebrating 15 happy years of marriage. They had proven the naysayers wrong, and Camilla – with her humour, hard work and patient nature – had also gained the respect and love from the British public, which was distinctly lacking at first.
The couple shared a wonderfully laid-back photo on Instagram to mark the occasion, as they posed at their Scottish estate of Birkhall with their two dogs. ‘Ahead of [the] 15th anniversary tomorrow, we are sharing this photo of Their Royal Highnesses with The Duchess’s dogs Bluebell and Beth,’ the caption explained.
During their love story, Charles and Camilla have also enjoyed the treasures of various ‘homes’ across the UK, and adore spending time together in them.
One day, Prince Charles and his wife might expect to live at Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace, when he becomes King. But Clarence House is the official London residence of Prince Charles and Camilla.
Then there is Birkhall, the couple’s idyllic Scottish hideaway, located on the Queen’s Balmoral Estate on Royal Deeside. Not forgetting Highgrove House, the property in Gloucestershire owned by the Duchy of Cornwall – and purchased by Charles in 1980.
Camilla also has a home, Ray Mill House, in Wiltshire, where she often spends time relaxing with her children Tom Parker Bowles, 47, and Laura Lopes, 44, and her five grandchildren.
There is no doubt Camilla’s life changed substantially when she wed the heir to the throne and committed herself to public duties.
But she has fallen into her role over the years with a quiet panache, and the British public has warmed to her substantially.
During the pandemic, the date 10 May, 2020, marked an important milestone – when the length of Prince Charles’s marriage to Camilla exceeded that of his marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales.
Perhaps, then, it’s high time we focused less on the epic tragedy of Charles’s ill-fated union with Diana and more on the epic love story of Charles and Camilla.