Queen Camilla reflects on her darkest days and one thing that got her through
It has been 25 years since they first went public with their relationship, but it's no secret that King Charles and Queen Camilla were forced to survive painful public hostility and emotional angst in the early days.
In the wake of leaked audio tapes, TV confessions of infidelity and an explosive tell-all book by Diana, Camilla later admitted there were times when she found it all too much.
“It was horrid. It was a deeply unpleasant time and I wouldn’t want to put my worst enemy through it. I couldn’t have survived it without my family,” she said in 2017.
But she refused to crumble, and two years after Diana’s death in 1997, she and Charles made their first public appearance together at the 50th birthday party of Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot at The Ritz in London.
The moment they left the hotel together sparked a media frenzy. Royal author Angela Levin says, “Photographs of them were in demand from around the world and their appearance, although brief, was the start of a new beginning for them both.”
Then their wedding on 9 April 2005 was a huge contrast to Charles and Diana’s, which cost nearly £60 million. When Charles and Camilla were finally able to exchange vows, they are reported to have paid only £285 to hire the Ascot Room at Windsor Guildhall, a high street register office.
But there was still a palpable sense of excitement, with about 20,000 well-wishers gathering outside the venue. “Their wedding was a huge turning point in many ways,” says Robert Hardman, author of Charles III: The Inside Story. “These are the moments that punctuate our royal history. There was a great buzz about it.”
Following the formalities, a simple two-hour reception was held in the State Apartments, where guests enjoyed an afternoon tea of smoked salmon, venison sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and strawberry tartlets. The wedding cake was a large square creation that weighed a whopping 17st.
On the day, Charles' wedding speech was packed with emotion. He said: “My darling Camilla, I can’t believe that you married me. She has stood with me through thick and thin and her optimism and humour have seen me through.”
The couple honeymooned at Balmoral, journeying to RAF Northolt in a Bentley that William and Harry decorated with balloons and the words “Prince” and “Duchess” sprayed on he windscreen, with “Just Married” on the rear.
Since then, Camilla has continued to win public approval, quietly getting on with her royal duties and providing endless affection and companionship for Charles.
