Royals may be great at Christmas cards [1], but they haven't always been so great at monogamy. However, scandalous history [2] aside, no one can deny that Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are truly, madly in love [3]. We've unearthed some old photos of Camilla through the years, and it's clear that Charles has always been a part of her love story, since their fortuitous meeting in 1971 to their eventual marriage in 2005. Check out the gallery for exclusive photos of Camilla through the years — as well as all the hints she gave along the way that she and Charles always belonged together.
Prince Charles and Camilla Chat at a Polo Match at Windsor Great Park
Prince Charles and Camilla were first introduced [5] in the Summer of 1971 at a mutual friend's party by Charles's college girlfriend, Lucia Santa Cruz. After discovering their shared love for polo and the outdoors, the two began dating almost immediately, meeting at polo matches at Windsor Great Park where Charles often played. The couple decided to split before Charles left for the Royal Navy in the beginning of 1973, but they remained good friends, despite Camilla's marriage to Captain Andrew Parker Bowles.
Camilla and Captain Andrew Parker Bowles Wed at the Guards Chapel
On July 4, 1973, 26-year-old Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in a Roman Catholic wedding at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks. The duchess's dress was designed by Bellville Sassoon [6], and 800 guests were in attendance, including Princess Anne, the Queen, and Princess Margaret. Andrew was a powerful British Army officer who first met Camilla eight years earlier at her debutante party. Though the two weren't always a couple — Andrew also dated Charles's younger sister, Princess Anne, and Camilla, of course, dated Charles — Andrew and Camilla reconnected when Charles left for the Royal Navy, and they got engaged soon after.
Charles and Camilla Spotted on a Walk Together in 1979
Charles and Camilla remained close friends over the years, with Charles even becoming godfather to her first child, Tom, who was born in 1974. A year after the birth of Camilla's second child, Laura, she and Charles were spotted taking an innocent-enough walk together, but that was enough for rumours of an affair to start circulating. Charles would soon begin a relationship with a then 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer, whose sister, Sarah, Charles also dated briefly in 1977.
Former Friends Princess Diana and Camilla Attend Ludlow Races
Believe it or not, Diana and Camilla used to be good friends [7] before they became public rivals. When Diana first began dating Charles in 1980, the two were often guests at Bolehyde Manor in Wiltshire, the country home Camilla shared with Andrew. Before the royal engagement was announced, Camilla even helped Diana navigate one of her first experiences with the press at the 1980 Ludlow Races, where both women watched Charles compete. It wasn't long after their engagement, however, that Diana became distrustful of her new friend.
Camilla Attends an Event in Hyde Park, London, in 1989
In November of 1989, Camilla attended an event in Hyde Park, at which point it was well known that she was carrying on an affair with Charles, who married Diana in 1981. By this time, Diana and Charles were already living almost entirely separate lives, though they wouldn't formally separate until 1992 and then divorce in 1996. Earlier that same year, Diana even famously confronted [8] Camilla at her sister Annabel Elliot's 40th birthday party, but their standoff still wasn't enough to keep Camilla and Charles apart.