These 30 IRL Photos of Camilla Parker Bowles as a Young Woman Prove She’s Always Been Royal AF
*Casually snoops during my binge-watch of The Crown.*
Thanks to The Crown (which is in its sixth and final season), we are all veeeery much aware of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’s tumultuous relationship.
I mean, season 3 of the hit show revealed how the eventual couple met, the fact they were dating while Camilla was on a break from her future first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, and how Princess Anne was actually dating Andrew for a quick sec while Camilla and Charles were together. So yeah, you could say things were pretty complicated!
Meanwhile, Charles and Camilla's relationship didn’t change all that much after Charles and Princess Diana got married. In fact, they got back together once Charles and Diana separated and divorced and were married themselves in 2005, which allowed Camilla to be Queen Consort of England once Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022 Charles became the king of England (Quick side note: A Queen Consort is not the same as a Queen).
So yeah, we know how these two got together IRL, but you might still be wondering what Camilla was like at that age. Did The Crown (and the actress who plays her, Emerald Fennell) do Camilla justice? Here are the very few pictures we could find of Camilla Shand as a young woman.
And FYI before we dive in: Rumor has it that Camilla and Charles' wedding is when The Crown will finally end—paving the way for a potential spin-off involving Prince Charles and his sons, Prince Harry and Prince William. We all know how drama-filled that particular chapter of royal history is, so stay tuned.
1952
Starting with bb Camilla! She’s on the left, in a starring role as a bridesmaid.
1970
Here she is with her future husband Charles at a polo match. This was before they were both married to other people.
1973
As you know, she didn’t marry Prince Charles right away. Here she is on the day of her first wedding.
1973
The hair here is truly iconic.
1973
Did you have people with swords at your wedding? Probably not!
1973
Another angle of that same photo. Again, so fancy.
1975
This was after she got married to someone else, but Charles was still single.
1976
Behold, an early paparazzi photo.
1979
This is the most British photo I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
1979
Like, Charles is wearing Hunter boots, I’m pretty sure.
1979
Those PANTS. Hello.
1979
Spot Camilla in the background as Charles and his turtleneck triumphantly step on this bale of hay.
1980
So this was before Charles and Diana got married, but obviously Camilla is still in the picture as a friend.
1980
They went to go watch Charles play polo together. So many good boots in one picture.
1980
I wonder who this random man is?
1980
Diana said in an interview after she and Charles split that she felt like there were three people in her marriage, hinting at Camilla.
1989
I think, more than anything, we need to have a conversation about this hat.
1998
And this one, too, while we're at it!
1992
This woman loves a polo match!
1994
New decade, same car pic vibes.
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