Queen Camilla is set to be crowned next to King Charles on Saturday – but how much do you really know about her?
She has been a controversial figure in the past – and remains to be so for some loyal Princess Diana fans – but she’s now very near the top of the Royal Family hierarchy.
In fact, the official royal website has just been updated so she is no longer Queen Consort – as she was known in the immediate aftermath of the Queen’s death – but is now just Her Majesty The Queen.
So, here’s a quick round-up of how she ended coming from Camilla Shand to Queen Camilla.
How does Camilla know Charles?
Camilla was one of Charles’s early girlfriends, and he met her long before he knew Diana.
Reports vary about how they met – was it in 1970 at a polo match or in 1971 through a mutual friend? – but they allegedly started dating after that first encounter.
The fling was over after just a few months though, as Charles joined the Royal Navy and was shipped overseas.
In his absence, Camilla went back to her former boyfriend, Andrew Parker Bowles, a British Army major. They got engaged and wed in 1973 (supposedly leaving the-then Prince of Wales heartbroken).
Camilla and the heir apparent continued to be friends for years afterwards – and some even speculate it turned romantic again around 1978.
What happened when Diana appeared on the scene?
Charles famously married the-then Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981, after a whirlwind romance. She came from a much more aristocratic background than Camilla, and so was perceived as a more suitable match by various Palace officials.
Diana later claimed there was evidence that Charles was still deeply attached to Camilla around this time, which left the Princess of Wales feeling completely bereft.
When did Charles and Camilla resume their relationship?
According to reports, Charles reignited his relationship with Camilla in 1986. Both were still married to other people at the time.
Diana had also given birth to both Prince William and Prince Harry at this point, while Camilla had her own children, Tom and Laura, by her own husband.
We will never know exactly how long this love triangle was going on for, because the royals themselves appear to have offered conflicting accounts.
The late Princess of Wales told BBC Panorama in 1995 that she believed there were always “three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded”, suggesting that Charles had always had a connection with Camilla ever since they wed in 1981.
Charles was also asked by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby in an ITV documentary called Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role, in 1994 if he had been faithful to his wife.
He said he had been, “until it became clear that the marriage had irretrievably broken down” and described his marital failure as “the last possible thing that I ever wanted”.
He and Diana were already separated at the time of the interview.
It’s worth remembering that the late Princess of Wales had also been romantically linked to other two people by 1986: Her bodyguard, Barry Albert Mannakee, and former Household Cavalry officer James Hewitt.
When did news of Charles and Camilla become public knowledge?
Diana and Charles did not separate until 1992, although at the time the Palace said they had “no plans to divorce”. Still, the news was a complete shock, as it was unconventional for royals to separate, never mind divorce.
The Princess of Wales is also believed to have offered a first-hand account of her life as a royal, including Charles’s affair, to journalist Andrew Morton for his 1992 book: ‘Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words’.
Then in 1993, details of an intimate phone call between Charles and Camilla – dating back to 1989 – was released. It was dubbed ‘Tampongate’.
In 1994, Charles shone further light on his messy marriage by speaking to Dimbleby in the ITV documentary, and the next year, Diana spoke to BBC Panorama.
Camilla and her-then husband divorced in 1995, while Charles and Diana’s divorce was finalised in August 1996, a year before the Princess of Wales’ death in Paris.
This tragedy meant Charles and Camilla wanted to conceal their romance for a while longer to avoid angering the public.
So, it wasn’t until January 1999 that the couple were seen leaving the London’s Ritz Hotel together, seemingly confirming their relationship.
By 2003, Camilla had moved into Charles’s home in Clarence House, and in 2005, they became engaged.
How has Camilla’s royal role gradually changed?
When they first announced their engagement, the Palace said: “It is intended that Mrs. Parker Bowles should use the title HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to The Throne.”
It also said that she would take Charles’s secondary title and become known as Duchess of Cornwall rather than Princess of Wales, so as not to overshadow the late royal.
Neither the Queen nor Prince Philip attended their civil ceremony, but they did go to a blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Windsor Castle.
Then in 2022, the Queen surprisingly gave her blessing for Camilla to be known as the Queen Consort.
In a statement, the late monarch said: “When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support 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.”
This is the title used by Camilla since her mother-in-law’s death in September – that is, until the coronation invites were sent out.
Camilla was called Queen Camilla instead of Queen Consort, which raised eyebrows as the late sovereign had not given her blessing to that particular title.
Buckingham Palace has since confirmed that she will be known as Queen Camilla after the coronation, because that follows in the format set out by former Queen Consorts (such as Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra).
The Royal Family’s website was also updated hours before the coronation to reflect her title as Queen Camilla.
What lies ahead for Camilla?
In the event that Charles dies before Camilla, she will not inherit the throne because she is not in the line of succession.
Instead, she will probably take one of two titles: Queen-dowager, the name King’s widows have previously taken, and Queen Mother, the title Queen Elizabeth II’s mother took when she was widowed.
However, the latter is unlikely, considering Camilla is not the biological mother of Charles’s successor, Prince William.