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Charles, Diana and Camilla: A Timeline of Their Royal Love Triangle

Charles, Diana and Camilla: A Timeline of Their Royal Love Triangle

With new interviews and fresh revelations in the headlines, we're taking a look back at one of most talked-about (and complex) love triangles in history

By Diana Pearl

June 26, 2017 05:24 PM

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1 of 22

1970

Credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty

Prince Charles first met Camilla Shand in a meeting arranged by mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, at a polo match. The two had an instant connection: "He loved the fact that she smiled with her eyes as well as her mouth, and laughed at the same silly things as he did. He also liked that she was so natural and easy and friendly, not in any way overawed by him, not fawning or sycophantic. In short, he was very taken with her, and after that first meeting he began ringing her up," royal biographer Penny Junor wrote in her new book, The Duchess: The Untold Story.

2 of 22

1971

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Charles joined the Royal Navy, putting a strain on his relationship with Camilla. To make matters more complicated, she didn't have what were then seen as prerequisites for marrying the Prince of Wales: An aristocratic bloodline and her virginity.They eventually parted ways, and she reconnected with Andrew Parker Bowles (a former boyfriend of Princess Anne), whom she first met in the late 1960s.

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1973

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While Charles was in the Caribbean for his service with the Royal Navy, Camilla accepted a marriage proposal from Andrew Parker-Bowles. The news devastated the prince. Junor details his despair: “It seemed to him particularly cruel, he wrote in one letter, that after ‘such a blissful, peaceful and mutually happy relationship’, fate had decreed that it should last a mere six months."

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1973

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Camilla marries Parker Bowles on July 4, 1973, despite pleas from Charles not to do so. Despite Camilla's change in marital status, she and Charles remained close friends.

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1977

Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images

Prince Charles first meets Lady Diana Spencer, who was 16 years old at the time. The relationship, however, doesn't take on any sort of romantic nature — in fact, Charles dated her older sister, Lady Sarah Spencer, who he is pictured with here.

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1978-79

Credit: TIM GRAHAM/Getty Images

It was around the time of the birth of Camilla's daughter, Laura, that she and Charles started up the physical side of their relationship once again (despite her marriage). Parker Bowles was apparently aware of the affair. “Andrew was in no position to complain; and when he discovered what was going on, he wisely didn’t make a fuss," an excerpt from The Duchess: The Untold Story, says. "Some would say that a part of him actually quite enjoyed the fact that his wife was sleeping with the future King; he might have felt differently had Charles been a traveling salesman."

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1980

Credit: Express Newspapers/Archive Photos

Charles meets Diana again, and this time, begins to see her as a prospective princess. She comes with him on visits to royal residences Balmoral and Sandringham, and attended his polo matches — one of which, with Camilla. Their relationship is surrounded by media buzz and speculation, leading Charles to rush toward a proposal.

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1981

Credit: Tim Graham/Getty

Charles and Diana announce their engagement in February. They were seen as a fairy tale couple, but cracks in the facade showed early on. When a reporter asked the pair if they were in love, Diana responded "of course," and Charles said "whatever 'in love' means." They only saw each other 12 times before they married. During his engagement and in the early years of his marriage, Charles was faithful to Diana.

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1981

Credit: Anwar Hussein/WireImage

They married on July 29, 1981, in what was dubbed the "wedding of the century." They welcomed their first child, Prince William, in 1982, and their second, Prince Harry, in 1984. Diana later said that these early years were the closest she and Charles ever came to happiness in their marriage.

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1986

Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Camilla and Charles start seeing each other again, even though both are married with children.

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1989

Credit: Terry Fincher/Getty Images

At this point, Diana knew about the affair, and even claims to have approached Camilla herself. "I was terrified of her. I said, 'I know what's going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that,'" Diana said on the tapes recorded for Andrew Morton, her biographer. "She said to me: 'You've got everything you ever wanted. You've got all the men in the world fall in love with you and you've got two beautiful children, what more do you want?' So I said, 'I want my husband'. And I said, 'I'm sorry I'm in the way ... and it must be hell for both of you. But I do know what's going on. Don't treat me like an idiot.'"

12 of 22

1992

Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images

Charles's affair with Camilla became public knowledge when tapes of conversations between Charles and Camilla were leaked in the press (including the infamous "tampax" mention) and Andrew Morton's explosive book, Diana: Her True Story was published. The book was written with the help of interviews from Diana herself, though this was unknown at the time. Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially announce their separation in December, in a statement from Prime Minister John Major.

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1994

Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images

Both Charles and Diana confirm their infidelity publicly, and Charles names Camilla as the other woman. Diana admitted to an affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt. Camilla said this time of intense public scrutiny and press attention was painful for her. “It was horrid," she told the Daily Mail's You magazine. "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.”

14 of 22

1995

Credit: Jean-Luc PETIT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Camilla and Parker Bowles announce their intention to divorce, saying that their differing interests led to the pair living separate lives. The divorce was official in March. That same year, Diana gives an explosive interview to BBC's Panorama, in which she is candid about the affair, saying, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

15 of 22

1996

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Charles and Diana divorce on August 28, 1996. In the year after their divorce and before her death, she dated a few men, including heart surgeon Hasnat Khan and businessman Dodi Al-Fayed.

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1997

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Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris. Charles travels to the city to retrieve her body and bring it back to London, where thousands line the streets to mourn her death.

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1998

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Charles introduces William and Harry to Camilla, but it still seems impossible that the two would ever be able to marry if Charles was to retain his position as heir to the throne.

18 of 22

1999

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Charles and Camilla appear in public for the first time together.

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2000

Credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images

The Queen attends a lunch that both Charles and Camilla are attending — a subtle, but significant acknowledgement of their relationship.

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2003

Credit: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Camilla moves into Clarence House, Charles's new London home, and is granted her own office in the space.

21 of 22

2005

Credit: Anwar Hussein Collection/ROTA/WireImage

Charles and Camilla announced their engagement in February, and married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on April 9. Though Charles's parents didn't attend the ceremony, they did attend the subsequent blessing at St. George's Chapel, and hosted a reception afterwards.

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2017

Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty

Charles and Camilla have been married for 12 years. Because Diana is so closely associated with the title Princess of Wales, Camilla instead goes by "Duchess of Cornwall." It is still not known for certain if Camilla will be granted the title of Queen Consort upon Charles's ascent to the throne after the eventual death of Queen Elizabeth.

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Charles, Diana and Camilla: A Timeline of Their Royal Love Triangle

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