Prince Charles married Princess Diana in a fairy-tale wedding. But in Diana’s own words, there were three of us in this marriage. The other woman was Camilla Parker Bowles, who always said she was holding out for a king. Camilla and Charles’ affair destroyed his marriage.
When he became King in 2002, Camilla fulfilled her lifelong ambition to become Queen. However, there were several major twists along the way…
Camilla’s Early Life
Camilla Rosemary Shand (pictured, right) was born in London on July 17th, 1947. She was born into high society through both her aristocratic parents. Her father, Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand, Vice Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, was a former British Army officer-turned-wine merchant.
Her mother, The Honourable Rosalind Maud Cubitt, was the daughter of the 3rd Baron Ashcombe and a charity worker. Camilla has a younger sister, Annabel Elliot — and she also had a younger brother, Mark, until he sadly passed away when he fell and hit his head in New York in 2014.
Home and Education
The Shand family divided their time between their three-story house in South Kensington and their $2 million, 18th-century country estate, The Laines, in East Sussex. When she was 10, Camilla (pictured, left) went to London’s exclusive Queen’s Gate School. She was an avid reader, horse rider, and tomboy.
Classmates described “Milla” as a girl of “inner strength,” exuding “magnetism and confidence,” and “bright and lively.” Despite these glowing references, 16-year-old Camilla left Queen’s Gate School with one O-level in 1964. For reference, most average students gained 8-10 O-Levels.
Swiss Finishing School
Instead of continuing her education by taking A-levels, Camilla Shand attended Mon Fertile Finishing School in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, where she developed a “confidence over men.” Next, she studied French and French literature at the University of London Institute in Paris for six months.
Most students need three A-levels to get into university. Camilla had one O-level and no A-levels, but money goes a long way. In 1965, Camilla became a debutante in London. A debutante is a young aristocratic woman who’s presented to high society at a formal debut.
Party Girl
During the height of London’s Swinging Sixties, Camilla moved into an apartment in trendy Kensington with her friend Jane Wyndham. She worked as a secretary for several West End companies and as a receptionist for a painter and decorator in Mayfair. However, she was soon fired after “she came in late, having been to a dance.”
Camilla, you see, was a party girl. She loved living it up and often stayed out all night schmoozing with her posh pals. But eventually, her girlfriends started marrying off.
Holding Out for a King
While Camilla was happy living the high life, all her friends became engaged to various Princes, Barons, Counts, and Dukes. Her roommate Virginia Carrington moved out to marry Camilla’s uncle, real estate tycoon Henry Cubitt.
According to her classmate, the renowned British actress Lynn Redgrave, Camilla not only wanted to stay out partying, but she also made it abundantly clear she intended to marry for status. In fact, Camilla always insisted that she was “holding out for a king.” Pictured here is Camilla’s future brother-in-law, Richard Eustace Parker Bowles, and the other on their wedding day.
Andrew Parker Bowles
Young Camilla continued her passion for horse riding and frequently attended equestrian events events like polo games. She loved painting and even took private lessons with an artist, although she admits most of her work “ended up in the bin.” The outdoorsy tomboy also loved fishing and gardening.
In the mid-1960s, Simon Parker Bowles — who worked for her father’s Mayfair wine company — introduced Camilla to his elder brother. Andrew Parker Bowles was a Guards Officer; a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals Cavalry Regiment of the British Army.
Royal Pick Up Line
Camilla Shand saw Andrew Parker Bowles on and off since she was 18. But the pair were always splitting up and getting back together. Andrew started dating the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, and Camilla started dating Prince Charles. It’s long been rumored Camilla and Charles first met at a Windsor Great Park polo match.
Never one for being backward at being forwards, legend says that the outrageously blunt Camilla Parker Bowles’ first words to Prince Charles were — “My great-grandmother and your great-great-grandfather were lovers. So how about it?”
Alice Keppel
Now would probably be a good time to mention that the Shand family is no stranger to having affairs with British kings. Camilla’s maternal great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was the long-time mistress of King Edward VII, King Charles III’s great-great-grandfather.
When Alice Keppel was 23, she married the Honourable Lieutenant Colonel George Keppel, son of the 7th Earl of Albemarle. But in 1898, Alice met Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Despite the 27-year age gap, they embarked on a long and torrid affair.
A Long Wait
Camilla’s great-grandmother. Alice, was 29 years old when the salacious affair started, while the Prince of Wales was in his mid-50s. Edward was besotted with Alice, and — while it was never publicly acknowledged — their affair was an open secret in aristocratic circles. Prince Edward became King after his mother, Queen Victoria, passed away in 1901.
However, because his mother reigned for 63 years, Edward VII had to wait until he was 59 to inherit the throne. He lived another nine years, passing away in 1910 aged 68 and ending the Edwardian era.
I’m a Royal Too, Don’t You Know?
Throughout her life, Camilla Parker Bowles had often declared to friends she was a member of the royal family through association. Narrator’s voice; she wasn’t. Whether she used the above pick-up line on the young prince is up for dispute.
Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth revealed they didn’t meet at that Windsor Great Park polo event. Beloved British raconteur Brandreth says the couple first met when Charles’ ex-lover, Lucía Santa Cruz, introduced them at a glitzy 1970 house party when Charles was 22 and Camilla was 24.
