In 2005, King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales married his longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles. The marriage of the then Prince Charles and Camilla was the culmination of a love affair that spanned five decades, scandalizing England, the greater world, and Queen Elizabeth II herself.
However, the royal family wasn't interested in having Camilla as its princess. For one thing, she was perceived as an “experienced” woman, which was a nonstarter for the royal family back then in terms of a suitable spouse for Prince Charles.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are undoubtedly very much in love, with public appearances always seeing them laughing and joking together, but reports say the couple does not share a bed. There's no trouble in paradise, though. It's customary for royal couples to sleep in different bedrooms.
Prince Charles realized in December 1972 that Camilla Parker Bowles was his soulmate and that he wanted to marry her—but did nothing about it.
Camilla may have been at Diana's wedding but she was not welcome at her funeral, which was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world. Still, to many her absence echoed around the ancient hall. The Queen made it clear to Charles that he could not take his paramour to the service.
And there are probably a number of reasons for that. In his early 20s, like many other young men, Charles simply wasn't ready for marriage. Not long after he met Camilla, Charles went off to serve in the navy. Camilla probably thought she could wait around forever without ever getting a proposal from the prince.
apparently the Princess Royal said “you're not Queen, you're the Queen Consort”'.
Reportedly, the reason why some royals chose to sleep in different beds all comes down to an upper-class tradition which originated in Britain and in part because it's a more practical arrangement than trying to sleep in the same bed.
Queen Elizabeth II settled the matter last year, when she gave the blessing for Camilla to be known as queen consort. The endorsement was widely seen as a formal sign that the royal family had finally accepted Camilla as a respected senior member.
It's been a rocky road, but these two finally found their happily ever after. Of all the modern royal romances, King Charles and Queen Camilla's has more twists and turns than a romantic comedy.
Camilla Is Related to Both Diana and King Charles
Strangely, they are also both related to the late Princess Diana through shared ancestry dating back to King Charles II. Also note that Camilla's great-grandmother was a mistress to King Edward VII, the great-great-grandfather of King Charles.
Toilet. The not-so-slight rivalry between the English and French aristocracy dates back over a thousand years, so unsurprisingly, the Royal Family doesn't use this word of French descent. Instead of toilet, they'd refer to that particular room as the lavatory or loo.
The monarch isn't a fan of a deep bath either, she is said to bathe in “no more than seven inches of water”, according to royal author Brian Hoey for the Daily Mail. Seven inches is equivalent to 17.8 centimetres.
How do royals choose their clothes? Two words: royal stylists. Obviously, royals lead very busy lives, so they don't really have much time to go shopping, which is where the stylist comes in. That said, Meghan apparently dresses herself, though she'll likely have an assistant who can call clothes in for her.
Since Charles has taken to the throne, the tradition has changed so that now, in the Royal order, Camilla has outranked Princess Anne - meaning all the royal women in the family must (and will) curtsy to her.
According to the BBC, Charles and Camilla first met at a polo match at Windsor Great Park. Some reports claim that Camilla's first line to Charles was, “My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather.
According to news.com.au, in the midst of the regal banquet held at Buckingham Palace, Anne confronted Camilla over her new title, telling the soon-to-be-crowned royal her title is Queen Consort and not Queen.
It's almost as if Charles had accepted that if he couldn't marry Camilla (who had been married to Andrew Parker Bowles since 1973), he wouldn't be happy no matter who he married, and so just went along with what his father thought was good for him and his country.
Royal women like Meghan and Kate often keep things casual at official events, wearing affordable brands and easy-to-wear styles, and that includes blue jeans. Here, 20 times royals have worn denim, from Prince Philip and Princess Alexandra in the 1950s to Meghan and Kate today. The Queen isn't one to wear denim.
No washing machines
Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla's clothes are not allowed to be cleaned in washing machines—everything is hand washed. When they sent their clothing away to be cleaned, they found that some items of clothing were kept as souvenirs.
So, perhaps the archaic tradition of not sharing a bed is the thing of the past and more modern royals such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Zara and Mike Tindall do snuggle up together.
What Kate called the Queen. While the rest of the world was required to address Queen Elizabeth as Ma'am or your majesty, those closest to her are allowed to refer to her as Mama, according to Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty magazine.
In fact, the toilet paper company was granted “Royal Warrant” in 1978 according to its website. The website states: “The Queen granted us a Royal Warrant in 1978 as a mark of recognition that Andrex® is a regular supplier of toilet tissue to the Royal households."
Zara and Mike Tindall are celebrating the birth of their baby son Lucas – who was born at home on the bathroom floor. The Queen's granddaughter Zara and former England rugby player Mike welcomed their third child, weighing 8lbs 4oz, on Sunday March 21.
According to royal writer Andrew Morton, the two women did in fact meet for lunch prior to the royal wedding.