A Romance Fit for a King! Take a Look at Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla’s Love Story

A life of royalty. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have had anything but a conventional love story since they first met in 1970. Although they both were previously married before tying the knot in April 2005, Charles and Camilla are just glad they get to wake up every day with each other.

The pair became friends when they met at a polo match 50 years ago. At the time, Camilla was 30 and the future king was 29. Although she found Charles interesting, Camilla didn’t pursue a relationship with the royal until later on in her life.

Prince Charles, however, started dating Princess Diana in 1980 and by July 1981, they were married! But sadly, his heart wasn’t in it, as the Prince of Wales would allegedly go on to have an affair with Camilla.

“I was terrified of her. I said, ‘I know what’s going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that,’” Diana reportedly told the duchess according to Andrew Morton’s controversial book Diana: Her True Story. “She said to me: ‘You’ve got everything you ever wanted. You’ve got all the men in the world falling in love with you and you’ve got two beautiful children, what more do you want?’ So I said, ‘I want my husband.’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry I’m in the way … and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what’s going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot.’”

After Diana confronted Camilla, the princess and her hubby announced their separation in December 1992, which was two years before Camilla divorced her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, in 1995. Even though this was a tough time for the royals, they suffered another tragedy when Princess Diana died in a car crash in August 1997, thus leaving Charles as a single parent of two to kids, Prince William and Prince Harry.

But eight years after her death, Charles moved on and married Camilla in a beautiful wedding ceremony. In April 2021, they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and haven’t looked back since.

Scroll through the gallery below to check out Charles and Camilla’s relationship timeline!