Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’s relationship began as most relationships do, it was at a party.

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In 1971, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker were introduced for the first time at a common friend’s party.



It was hosted by none other than Prince Charles’s college girlfriend, Lucia Santa Cruz. Lucia is the daughter of the former Chilean ambassador to London. Lucia was rumoured to have carried on a small but passionate romance with Prince Charles. It was at the time when he was studying at Cambridge University. She told that she had “just the girl” for Prince Charles before hooking him up with Camilla Shand.

While interacting with each other at the party, they came to a point for the shared love of polo and being outdoors. Camilla Parker Bowles was reportedly noted making a joke about her great-grandmother Alice Keppel, that her Great-grandmother had an affair with King Edward VIII. Telling this to Prince Charles, “My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather. I feel we have something in common”.

Also read: How well do Queen Elizabeth and Camilla Bowles actually get along?



The two, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles began dating almost immediately after the attractive meeting at the party. They used to then meet at polo matches at Windsor Great Park, where Prince Charles often played. But the two split right before Prince Charles left for the Royal Navy.

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When Prince Charles got back eight months later, Camilla Parker Bowles was engaged to an Army officer, Andrew Parker Bowles. Camilla and Andrew tied the knot in 1973. Though the two stayed close, Prince Charles began a relationship with Diana Spencer in 1980.

Asking for her hand

Prince Charles popped the question after only 12 dates. Even though Prince Charles and Diana were married in 1981, the Late Princess of Wales had her suspicions that Prince Charles and Camilla had rekindled their romance behind her back.

Also read: Prince Charles and Camilla avoid eating chillies and garlic, reveals her son.



When it came to celebrating the nuptials, Prince Charles decided to buy gifts for a dozen of his close friends. It also included Camilla Parker Bowles. He bought her “a gold bracelet personalized with a blue enamel disk engraved with the initials ‘GF’. This monogram stood for ‘Girl Friday’. That is Prince Charles’s nickname for her now beloved wife.

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