Prince Charles didn't marry Camilla first because the Royal Family deemed her unsuitable as a future Queen due to her lack of titled aristocratic bloodline and "past" romantic experiences, while Charles was focused on royal duties and not ready for marriage, leading to their split and Camilla marrying Andrew Parker Bowles before Charles married Diana, though their deep connection continued, eventually leading to marriage decades later.
He adds that at that point, Camilla would not have been considered by the Queen and her advisers to be a suitable bride for the heir to the throne because she had a "past" (as it was put then) - meaning earlier relationships before meeting Charles.
Charles could have married her, but chose not to. It was his choice because he felt he was too young and wasn't certain. Plus, his uncle and mentor, Lord Mountbatten, told him Camila was ``mistress, not wife material''.
In his new memoir Spare, Prince Harry reportedly says he and Prince William asked their father King Charles not to marry Queen Camilla following the death of their mother Princess Diana.
PRINCESS DIANA KNEW CHARLES STILL LOVED CAMILLA BEFORE SHE MARRIED HIM. Prince Charles dated Camilla before he met Diana, but the two broke up shortly before he met Diana. While courting Diana, Charles realized he was still interested in Camilla.
Queen Camilla experienced a significant illness in late 2024, initially described as a chest infection but later revealed to be pneumonia, which caused her to miss engagements due to fatigue and lingering symptoms, though she has since recovered from the acute infection but deals with post-viral fatigue, requiring schedule adjustments. She also had acute sinusitis in September 2025.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (then Sophie Rhys-Jones) did not attend Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, reportedly because her strong resemblance to Diana would have been too upsetting for the grieving crowds, a decision made thoughtfully by Sophie herself. At the time, she was dating Prince Edward, but they were not yet engaged or married.
Camilla did not attend Diana's funeral on September 6, 1997.
I don't look at her as an evil stepmother,” he said, then continued, “I see someone who married into this institution and has done everything that she can to improve her own reputation and her own image for her own sake.”
I omitted obey from my vows.
At Clarence House, they are privileged to have their own bedrooms as well as their shared bedroom." Not only do the couple have separate bedrooms, but they also stay in separate homes for some healthy alone time on occasion, according to royal experts. Chard told Fox News Digital, "They are both independent people.
He was dating her older sister who decided she didn't want that life style so her family pressured her to date Charles instead. Diana was young and naive and saw a fantasy lifestyle. Charles was told he couldn't marry the love of his life and so decided to marry the suitable Diana.
Though she greatly supported Camilla at the end of her life—even encouraging the public to refer to her as “Queen Consort” on what would become her final Accession Day on February 6, 2022—originally Queen Elizabeth was not a supporter of hers and did not attend Charles and Camilla's wedding.
Nearly eight years after Princess Diana's death in a car crash was mourned the world over, Prince Charles, her widower and heir to the British throne, weds his longtime mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. The marriage, a private civil ceremony, took place at Windsor Guildhall, 30 miles outside of London.
According to People, Camilla received an invitation due to her husband's position in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, a military unit tasked with ceremonial duties.
In fact, prior to her wedding to King Charles on April 9, 2005, Queen Camilla remained in the shadows to some extent. According to one royal biographer, a "watershed moment" occurred in 2002, after which Queen Camilla's role within the Royal Family was accepted a little more by Queen Elizabeth II.
While Prince William publicly calls Queen Camilla by her official title, privately, reports suggest he's used affectionate terms like "Gaga" (shared with his children) and previously held negative nicknames like "Witch of the West" or "Lady Macbeth" as a teenager, though he now maintains a respectful, albeit sometimes distant, relationship, often calling her "Mum".
Queen Camilla was diagnosed with a form of pneumonia following a chest infection in late 2024, which caused fatigue and led to her missing some public engagements, though she continued with indoor duties and worked towards recovery, managing lingering post-viral tiredness with rest. Her illness was initially described as a "nasty bug," but she later confirmed the pneumonia diagnosis herself, requiring a modified schedule for a period.
However, one member of the Royal Family decided to skip Diana's funeral, fearing their attendance would upset too many people. According to the Daily Mail, biographer Sean Smith discussed Duchess Sophie's decision to not attend Princess Diana's funeral in a forthcoming book.
Traditionally, the monarch never bows to anyone — it's others who bow or curtsy to the sovereign. But in that moment, the Queen set aside centuries of royal custom to honor Diana, the “People's Princess,” and to reflect the nation's grief. It was a rare, human moment that said more than words ever could.
Diana was wearing a ring given to her by Dodi Fayed when she died. It was a £3,000 Bulgari yellow gold band with diamonds. The diamond band set in yellow gold was not an engagement ring and was worn on the fourth finger of her right hand, where her butler Paul Burrell advised her to wear it.
Princess Margaret didn't bow to Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral primarily due to a deep-seated resentment stemming from Diana's 1995 tell-all Panorama interview, which Margaret saw as a severe betrayal of the Royal Family and the Queen; Margaret never forgave Diana for publicly airing grievances and challenging royal decorum, viewing her as a disloyal figure, leading to her snub during the funeral procession despite their initially warm relationship.
Meghan Markle's jewelry collection includes several heirloom pieces from the late Princess of Wales. The Duchess of Sussex wore Diana's iconic "divorce ring" to her 2018 wedding reception, for example. She has since stepped out in earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that once belonged to her late mother-in-law.
In these moments, Diana would often keep her chin tucked and her head slightly down, making it harder for the photographers to get a clear shot. This subtle act helped her regain some control over her public image and shielded her from the overwhelming exposure that came with being part of the royal family.