However, as time passed by, the people of Britain learned to love Camilla, and today, she’s a very important part of the family. What’s most, she’s loved by many.

Charles and Camilla were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the Chilean ambassador, at a polo match. They started dating in 1972, but the relationship didn’t last long as Charles left to serve in the Royal Navy. When his duties there came to an end and he returned home, Camilla was already engaged to her now-ex husband Andrew Parker Bowles.

However, they never stopped being close. Even when Charles married Diana, he and Camilla stayed in touch.

Prince Charles chats to Camilla Parker-Bowles at a polo match, circa 1972. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Royal author Penny Junior claimed that Charles was aware he wasn’t in love with his future wife Diana, but it was already too late for him to call off the wedding.

“Charles was not convinced he was doing the right thing in marrying Diana but there was no way out and, bolstered by the hope that things would be different once they were married, he put a brave face on it,” she wrote, as reported by the Mirror.

What’s most, Camilla and Diana knew each other and got along, but then things changed.

“I met [Camilla] very early on. I was introduced to the circle, but I was a threat, I was a very young girl, but I was a threat,” Diana explained in the book Diana: In Her Own Words.

The love affair between Charles and Camilla started in 1986, according to Prince Charles’ authorized biography, as quoted by Town & Country. At the time, Charles was still married to Princess Diana and she eventually became aware that her husband was cheating on her.

Diana even confronted Camilla once, but nothing changed.

Express Newspapers/Archive Photos

Speaking of the troubles in her marriage and the reasons for its failure, Diana told Martin Bashir during a televised interview, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and their divorce was finalized four years later.

Just months after Charles and Diana formally separated, the press published a full transcript of a telephone call between the then-future King and Camilla.

The phone call revealed an intimate and sexual exchange between the couple, which became known as Tampongate.

Despite the mistreatment from the press, the bond between Camilla and Charles prevailed. On April 9, 2005, the couple exchanged vows in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.

Later, at the wedding reception, the late Queen Elizabeth offered a toast to the newlyweds. However, she had other plans in mind, as she briefly stepped into another room to catch a horse race.

“I have two important announcements to make. The first is that Hedgehunter has won the Grand National,” the queen said.

“They have overcome Becher’s Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles. They have come through, and I’m very proud and wish them well. My son is home and dry with the woman he loves,” Queen Elizabeth II continued as she made a comparison with her horses.

Gareth Davies/Getty Images

When she was married to her first husband, Camilla had a regular job. According to the Mirror, she worked as a secretary at several firms in London’s West End area and later as a receptionist at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in Mayfair. She studied at Dubrells School in Sussex and Queen’s Gate School in South Kensington before finishing school at Institut Britannique in Paris, where she studied English and French Literature.

In the book On The Fringe—A Life In Decorating, designer Imogen Taylor, who was a colleague at the interior design firm Colefax and Fowler, where the queen used to work, remembered a time when a young Camilla arrived late to work after a night of partying.

Taylor claimed Camilla was then yelled at and fired.

In 2016, she told the Sunday Times: “There were lots of debutantes working for us, even Camilla. She worked for us for a moment but got the sack.”

“He would shout and bellow so the whole building heard every word. The Duchess of Cornwall was one assistant who fell victim to one of tantrums. I think she came in late, having been to a dance,” Taylor recalled their boss’s temperament.

Finnbarr Webster – WPA Pool / Getty Images

Today, Camilla is a vital part of the Firm.

Speaking of the current role Queen Camilla has taken upon herself, royal expert Angela Levin said Camilla is “holding the royal family up.”

“I mean, to wait till you’re 73 is a long time before you can take the crown. I think obviously, at his age, it’s very difficult, but he’s very determined, and he’s only really just started to be king,” Levin said while appearing on GB News. “Supporting him very much, absolutely by his side, is Queen Camilla, who is going to all the engagements that they would have gone to together on her own.”

“And so that way he will feel it’s still moving, it’s still running, and they can discuss it and talk about it. And I think that’s marvelous. I mean, she is holding the Royal Family up and being strong. If you imagine 30 years ago, people were saying the whole Royal Family would absolutely disintegrate, and she would be of no use.”

Although it is known that Camilla doesn’t want to be under the spotlight, she’s doing an excellent job while meeting with the public.

“To support her husband. She understands him very well because they’ve been together for over 50 years, before they even got married. it’s a long time and they make each other laugh,” Levin added.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 17: King Charles III and Queen Camilla leave St Paul’s Church also known as Actors’ Church, during a visit to Covent Garden on May 17, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Daniel Leal – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Royal expert and former royal correspondent Charles Rae praised the queen for supporting King Charles and Kate Middleton in this troublesome time, calling her a “remarkable asset,” adding that Camilla is “one of the best things to happen to the Royal Family” in a “good number of years.”

“There’s no question about it, she stepped into the breach. She’s got everything on her shoulders with what’s going on, and she’s taking on even more work,” royal expert Charles Rae said.

“Everywhere she goes, she has got a cheery smile on and a happy face. She says the right things. She has proved to be a remarkable asset to the Royal Family, given the allegations that at one time she had bread rolls thrown at her in a supermarket car park.”

MALTON, ENGLAND – APRIL 05: King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort visit Talbot Yard Food Court on April 05, 2023 in Malton, England. The King and Queen Consort are visiting Yorkshire to meet local producers and charitable organisations. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson gave a rare glimpse into the Royal Family's family dynamic during an appearance at Cannes Film Festival.

The 64-year-old told of the importance of family members supporting one another while attending the 2024 amFar Gala. Speaking with PEOPLE magazine, the royal said "forgiveness" was the most important part of maintaining good family relationships. "I think family unity is key... I think the key to life is that we all support each other," she said. "And also forgiveness is a great thing. I think forgiveness of yourself and forgiveness of others."

She made the remarks while being asked whether she had been supporting King Charles and Princess Kate as they received treatment for cancer. The duchess herself has already undergone treatment following diagnoses for both breast and skin cancer in recent months.

And now royal author and expert Tom Quinn exclusively tells The Mirror that Fergie's comments were a "clear reference to Meghan and Harry’s ongoing feud with Prince William and King Charles".

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with King Charles and Prince William before the family feud ( 
Image:
POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Quinn adds: "But the Duchess has her own well-publicised family difficulties to deal with – she has never stopped trying to persuade the senior royals to rehabilitate her former husband Prince Andrew and when she talked about unity and the need for forgiveness, she no doubt also had her husband in mind.

The Duchess of York is only too well aware from her own life in the Royal family that anger and bitterness ultimately lead nowhere. She has always felt that Harry needs to pull himself together and try to forget about the past for the sake of the family. She feels Harry is just taking things too far.

While the King has returned to public duties following his diagnosis at the beginning of the year, the Princess of Wales remains out of the public eye after beginning her treatment in March. The forms of cancer each has been diagnosed with have not been revealed.

Prince William however recently told the public she was "doing well" while on a recent engagement. Fergie, who has undergone a mastectomy to treat her breast cancer, stated that she's "put cancer in the corner."

"I think a lot of people get very frightened to talk about these things," the Duchess of York expressed. "I'm very happy with my mastectomy and my breasts and just to talk about it."