King Charles and Queen Camilla's relationship timeline, from sordid affair to companions

Love may have first blossomed for King Charles and Queen Camilla, then Prince Charles and Camilla Shand, over fifty years ago, but they are only now celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary.

The couple tied the knot in Windsor on April 9 2005, despite having been involved romantically on and off since they were first introduced back in 1970.

Their relationship madheadlines due to their extra-marital affairs, but their relationship has stood the test of time and Camilla eventually won over both the Royal Family and the British public.

Camilla’s devotion to duty and to her husband was reflected when Queen Elizabeth announced that she would be known as Queen Consort once Charles became King.

Now as Charles and Camilla face their latest challenge together as he battles cancer, we take a look back at the entire timeline of their relationship.

Then-Prince Charles was first introduced to Camilla in 1970 by their mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz, and it was clear from the beginning that sparks flew.

In her book The Duchess: The Untold Story, royal author Penny Junor wrote about how besotted Charles was with his new girlfriend: “He loved the fact that she smiled with her eyes as well as her mouth, and laughed at the same silly things as he did.

“He also liked that she was so natural and easy and friendly, not in any way overawed by him, not fawning or sycophantic. In short, he was very taken with her, and after that first meeting he began ringing her up.”

However it wasn’t long before trouble started brewing, with Charles joining the Royal Navy in 1971, putting a strain on his romantic relationship.

It was also felt that Camilla was not a suitable choice for the future King as she was not a virgin and did not have an aristocratic bloodline, leading them to decide to part ways.

In 1973 Camilla married Andrew Parker-Bowles, a former boyfriend of Princess Anne’s, which devastated Charles, even though he and Camilla managed to remain friends.

Camilla and Andrew had two children together, Tom and Laura, but by around 1978 or 1979 she and Charles were seeing each other again, with the full knowledge of Andrew.

Ms Junor wrote: “Andrew was in no position to complain; and when he discovered what was going on, he wisely didn’t make a fuss. Some would say that a part of him actually quite enjoyed the fact that his wife was sleeping with the future King; he might have felt differently had Charles been a traveling salesman.”

But the pressure was still on Charles to find a wife, and in 1980 he began courting Lady Diana Spencer, marrying her on July 29 1981 in what was dubbed the “wedding of the century”.

Camilla and her son Tom were guests at the nuptials, with Diana’s virginal status and heralded aristocratic family making her an apparently more appropriate choice for a royal bride.

But in 1986, after Princes William and Harry came along, Charles and Camilla once again rekindled their affair, with Diana calling Camilla out once she discovered what was going on.

On January 17 1993 audio recordings of a phone conversation between Charles and Camilla were leaked and transcripts of the conversation were published by the British press.

In the conversation, which was held in 1989 when both were still married to their respective spouses, the pair professed their love for one another and made sexually suggestive comments, which made reference to a tampon.

The scene was immortalised in the fifth series of hit Netflix royal drama The Crown, which saw Dominic West and Olivia Williams playing Charles and Camilla respectively.

Charles and Diana announced their formal separation on December 9 1992, an ‘annus horribilis’ for the Royal Family during which Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew all ended their marriages.

In spite of them being estranged it was initially announced that they had no plans to divorce and would occasionally appear at royal events together.

In a 1994 interview with ITV Charles admitted his infidelity, but claimed it had only happened once his marriage to Diana had “irretrievably broken down, us both having tried”.

The pair did decide to divorce in 1996, after Diana agreed to his request in February of that year, with the process finalised on August 28.

Camilla and Andrew announced their own plans to divorce in January 1995, stating they had lived apart for two years and there was “little of common interest” between them.

On November 20 1995 – after Diana and Charles had separated but before they filed for divorce – the Princess of Wales gave an interview to the BBC’s Martin Bashir for Panorama.

Diana admitted to her own affair with James Hewitt during the interview, however she also claimed she “desperately wanted” her marriage to work and said it was her “woman’s instinct” that first made her suspicious that he was cheating.

She added that learning of her husband’s infidelity was “pretty devastating” and made her feel “useless and hopeless and failed”.

Diana’s most infamous quote from the interview summarised her feelings about Charles and Camilla’s relationship, as she said: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

Speaking in May 2017 Camilla recalled the vitriol she faced once news of the affair went public, telling 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.”

Having separated from their spouses, Charles and Camilla gradually began to spend more time together, even being spotted together in public.

In October 1995 they both attended a party for their mutual friend Lady Sarah Keswick, where they reportedly danced together for two hours.

A royal journalist told PEOPLE magazine that this outing at Lady Keswick’s celebration “was hugely significant. It opened up the gates a little further — making the point that he and Camilla are a couple and will be seen at things together.”

In August 1997 Diana was tragically killed in a car accident, however by the following year Camilla had met with William and Harry for the first time, even though Queen Elizabeth still did not yet approve of the relationship.

In January 1999 the couple made their first official outing together at Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot’s birthday party at the Ritz Hotel in London, with 150 photographers snapping them leaving together.

By 2000 the Queen began to accept her son’s choice of partner, and they started gradually attended official royal events together, moving into Clarence House together in August 2003.

Charles and Camilla announced their engagement on February 10 2005, with the future King saying in a statement: “Mrs Parker-Bowles and I are absolutely delighted. It will be a very special day for us and our families.”

William and Harry released a joint statement of their own, saying, “We are both very happy for our father and Camilla, and we wish them all the luck in the future.”

Camilla even revealed that Charles had got down on one knee to pop the question, saying she was “just coming down to Earth” after his proposal.

The pair married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, just outside of Windsor Castle, with Camilla receiving the title of Duchess of Cornwall upon their marriage.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip did not attend the ceremony itself but joined the rest of the family for a blessing at St George’s Chapel and the reception.

In February 2022, the same year she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth made clear her wishes for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort, in a sign that she had been fully embraced by the Royal Family.

She 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.”

Just months later, on September 8, the Queen passed away, with Charles and Camilla being named as King and Queen Consort ahead of their official Coronation on May 6 2023.

A Royal Warrant issued by the King subtly changed his wife’s title by dropping the word Consort, a change which should be reflected “in every prayer for the Royal Family contained in any form of service authorised for use in the Church of England”.

In 2022 Camilla told British Vogue about her marriage: “It’s not easy sometimes, but we do always try to have a point in the day when we meet.

“Sometimes it’s like ships passing in the night, but we always sit down together and have a cup of tea and discuss the day … You know when we go away, the nicest thing is that we actually sit and read our books in different corners of the same room. It’s very relaxing because you know you don’t have to make conversation. You just sit and be together.”