A Fairytale Unravels: The Prince Charles and Camilla Affair Timeline
One of the most enduring and publicly scrutinized royal sagas was the love triangle involving Prince Charles, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles (now Queen Camilla). This deeply personal story played out over decades, fueled by intense media attention and forever changing the perception of the heir to the throne.
The Early Years and a Fateful Marriage
Prince Charles first met Camilla Shand in the early 1970s. The two formed a close bond, but circumstances and royal protocol kept them apart. Charles joined the Royal Navy, and in his absence, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Despite their separate lives, Charles and Camilla remained close friends. According to Jonathan Dimbleby’s authorized biography, The Prince of Wales, their romantic relationship resumed around 1986, several years into Charles’s marriage to Lady Diana Spencer.
Charles and Diana’s wedding in 1981 was a global spectacle, billed as a “fairytale” union. However, behind the scenes, the marriage was fraught with difficulty almost from the start. The pressures of royal life, a significant age gap, and incompatible personalities created a rift. Diana’s own admissions, later corroborated by multiple biographers and news reports, confirmed she was aware of the enduring connection between her husband and Camilla, which became a major source of distress in their marriage.
The “War of the Waleses” and Public Admissions
The 1990s saw the private turmoil spill into the public domain in what the press dubbed the “War of the Waleses.” In 1992, Andrew Morton’s book, Diana: Her True Story, was published, revealing Diana’s unhappiness, her struggles with bulimia, and the presence of Camilla in her marriage. Initially published with anonymous sources, it was later confirmed Diana herself had been the primary source, providing information through secret tape recordings.
The same year, the couple’s official separation was announced by Prime Minister John Major in the House of Commons. The following years were marked by a series of explosive media revelations. In 1993, transcripts of an intimate 1989 phone conversation between Charles and Camilla were leaked and published in tabloids, a scandal dubbed “Camillagate.” This confirmed the affair in the most graphic and embarrassing way possible for the Royal Family.
In a 1994 televised interview with Jonathan Dimbleby, Prince Charles publicly admitted to his infidelity. When asked if he had been “faithful and honorable” to his wife, he replied, “Yes, absolutely.” But after a pause, he added, “…until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.” He confirmed his relationship with Camilla had been rekindled after this point. This was a stunning admission for an heir to the throne.
Not to be outdone, Princess Diana gave her own landmark interview in 1995 to the BBC’s Panorama program. In a now-iconic moment, she responded to a question about Camilla’s role in the breakdown of her marriage by saying, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” This quote, reported globally by outlets like the Associated Press (AP), crystallized the narrative for the public.
Aftermath and A New Chapter
The couple divorced in 1996. Tragically, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris just one year later. In the years following her death, Prince Charles began the slow and careful process of publicly introducing Camilla as his partner. They made their first public appearance together in 1999.
Their relationship gradually gained acceptance. In 2005, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles were married in a civil ceremony, with Camilla receiving the title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall. For years, it was understood she would be known as Princess Consort when Charles became King. However, in February 2022, Queen Elizabeth II issued a statement expressing her “sincere wish” that Camilla be known as Queen Consort upon Charles’s accession. Following the Queen’s death in September 2022, King Charles III ascended the throne, and Camilla became Queen Camilla, completing a remarkable and tumultuous journey from royal mistress to crowned queen.
