- Emerald Fennell plays Camilla Parker Bowles in season 4 of The Crown, which is about Charles and Diana Spencer's courtship and marriage.
- Camilla married Prince Charles in a civil wedding service in 2005.
- What is Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, like in real life? Here's what you need to know about Camilla, from her kids to her love for dogs.
Season 4 of The Crown follows one of royal history's most notorious love triangles. According to The Crown and just about every biographer, Prince Charles, heir to the throne, still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles, when he married Diana Spencer in an elaborate ceremony. As Diana would later tell the BBC, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."
Camilla Parker Bowles (portrayed by Emerald Fennell) was first introduced in season 3 of The Crown, which sets the stage for season 4.
She and Charles reportedly met in 1971, according to the biography Charles and Camila: Portrait of a Love Affair by Gyles Brandreth.
Although it's widely reported that the two met at a polo match in 1972, Brandreth wrote that they were actually introduced by their friend Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the former Chilean ambassador to London. After dating for about a year, they abruptly ended their relationship in 1973, according to the BBC.
Camilla married her longtime boyfriend, Andrew Parker Bowles, in 1973 and in 1981, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. Although they went on to marry other people, Camilla and Prince Charles were romantically involved for 25 years. According to Jonathan Dimbleby's authorized biography Prince of Wales: A Biography, the two started their affair in 1986, after his marriage to Princess Diana was "irretrievably broken down," as Charles said in a televised interview with Dimbleby.
Charles and Camilla's affair made headlines after the publication of Andrew Morton's Princess Diana biography, Diana: Her True Story, in 1992, which had allegations of Charles's infidelity. In 1994, Prince Charles publicly addressed his relationship with Camilla for the first time with Dimbleby.
"Mrs. Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine. I have a large number of friends. I'm terribly lucky to have so many friends who I think are wonderful and make the whole difference to my life, which would become intolerable otherwise," he said. "She has been a friend for a very long time, along with a lot of other friends, and will continue to be a friend for a very long time."
Despite all the scrutiny surrounding their relationship after both of their divorces, the two started dating again and eventually tied the knot on April 5, 2005. The Crown tracks the trajectory of their relationship, from the first meeting to a complicated dynamic. Ahead of The Crown's return, here's what you need to know about Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Camilla Parker Bowles has two children, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles.
With her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, Camilla had two children: Tom (born in 1974) and Laura (born 1978). Prince Charles is not only Tom's stepdad—he's also his godfather. When Camilla and Prince Charles got married, Tom and Prince William acted as witnesses since neither of the couple's parents attended the civil ceremony, according to the BBC.
Camilla and Charles's kids, now step-siblings, haven't always gotten along, apparently. According to royal reporter Katie Nicholl’s 2010 book Harry and William, Prince William and his step-sister Laura formerly had an acrimonious relationship. “William and Laura used to have terrible fights over who was to blame for their broken homes,” Nicholl wrote. “William would blame Camilla for all the hurt she had caused his mother, which would send Laura into a rage. Laura was not having any of it. She would take a hard line and fire back at William, ‘Your father has ruined my life.’”
Her official title is very long.
When Camilla married Prince Charles, she had the option of taking the title of Princess of Wales since he's the Prince of Wales. Because it is so commonly associated to the late Princess Diana, Camilla decided to forgo using that title, according to Marlene Koenig, royal expert and author of the blog Royal Musings.
Camilla's official title is as follows: Her Royal Highness The Princess Charles, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Carrick, Baroness of Renfrew, Lady of the Isles, Princess of Scotland.
"Camilla was not popular or well liked, [though] this has changed a lot since the marriage as Camilla has taken on a lot of patronages and Charles is a lot happier," Koenig told Town & Country. "Still, [there was] a lot of tension and anger among a certain element of the population—so it was decided that Camilla would be styled as the Duchess of Cornwall, even though, of course, she is the Princess of Wales."
Today, she's 73-years-old.
Camilla Parker Bowles was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17, 1947 in London, England. She grew up on a large country estate with her parents, Bruce and Rosalind, and two younger siblings, Annabel and Mark. Like Diana, Camilla was born under the Cancer zodiac sign.
She reportedly watches The Crown.
According to Vanity Fair royal reporter Katie Nicholl, Camilla has indeed seen The Crown and intends to watch season four. “I imagine she’ll be tuning in with a glass of red wine to watch it,” a source reportedly told Nicholl. “She has a wonderful sense of humor and this won’t fuss her in the slightest.” She added that Prince Charles has likely seen it too. "I don’t think she has any real issue with it. Her feeling is very much ‘never complain, never explain."
Camilla's first job was at an assistant at an interior design firm.
Camilla, like Diana, had jobs before she was royal. Her first was working as an assistant at a high-end interior design firm called Colefax and Fowler. But the gig didn't last long. “She worked for us for a moment but got the sack," Imogen Taylor, a former colleague, told The Sunday Times, per People.
In her book On the Fringe: A Life in Decorating, Taylor placed the blame on their notoriously hot-headed boss, Tom Parr. “The Duchess of Cornwall was one assistant who fell victim to one of [Parr’s] tantrums,” Taylor wrote. “I think she came in late having been to a dance.”
Just like Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla loves dogs.
Queen Elizabeth II's breed of choice is the corgi. Camilla can't get enough of Jack Russell Terriers. In 2011, she adopted a Jack Russell Terrier puppy named Beth, and in 2012 she got another one named Bluebell. She's also a patron of the charity Medical Detection Dogs, which is an organization that trains dogs to support people with life threatening health conditions.
Camilla has quite the education.
According to the Royal Family website, The Duchess of Cornwall was first educated at Dumbrells School (middle school), then attended Queen's Gate School (high school). At 16, she traveled abroad to attend the Mon Fertile finishing school in Switzerland. After completing her studies, Camilla traveled to France to learn French and French literature at the University of London Institute in Paris.
Like the O of O, Camilla enjoys gardening.
While Camilla has always loved outdoor activities like riding and hunting, just like her husband, gardening is really her passion. "I'd be out in my garden all day, every day if I were allowed," she told reporters in 2018. "I love to get my hands dirty."
She also loves all the charity work she does.
The Duchess supports over 90 charities as a patron or president. The main causes she supports have to do with "health, literacy, supporting victims of rape and sexual abuse and domestic violence, empowering women; food; animals and heritage and the arts," per the couple's official website.
In 2016, Queen Elizabeth II passed along her patronage of the following charities to Camilla: Barnardo's, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and The Royal School of Needlework.
Her engagement ring from Prince Charles is historic.
When Prince Charles proposed to Camilla he did so with an art deco design that features a five-carat emerald cut diamond in the center and three diamond baguettes on each side. The ring belonged to his grandmother, the Queen Mother. In 2005, Clarence House described the ring as a family heirloom.
Another piece of the Queen Mother's jewelry that Camilla loves to wear is the Greville Tiara, pictured above. It was a favorite of the Queen Mother until she bequeathed it to her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2002.
When the Duchess married Prince Charles in 2005, the queen loaned it to her on a long-term basis. Now, it's her signature tiara.
When Charles becomes king, Camilla's title will change, but she won't be queen.
As Queen Elizabeth II's first born, Prince Charles is next in line to ascend the throne. When he becomes king, Camilla's title will change, but it won't technically be queen. After their 2005 wedding, it was announced that she would be known as princess consort and not queen.
According to The Telegraph, the Prince of Wales's website once had "Will the Duchess become Queen when The Prince becomes King?" in their frequently asked questions section. “As was explained at the time of their wedding in April 2005, it is intended that The Duchess will be known as HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales Accedes to The Throne," the answer read.
However, Clarence House has since removed the question, per Town and Country. As monarch, Charles will have the power to upgrade Camilla's title to Queen Consort if he so chooses. In 2010, when Prince Charles was asked by NBC's Brian Williams if the duchess would become queen, he had a vague answer. "That's, well...we'll see, won't we? That could be," he said.
She's a social butterfly.
In an 2017 interview with the Daily Mail, Camilla credited her parents for teaching her manners and how to socialize, skills that go hand-in-hand with her royal duties.
"My mother could be quite fierce sometimes. I remember once there was a dinner party at home with some of the most boring neighbors in the world and we were dragged down to join them for dinner," she said. "We used to complain and say, 'Can't we stay here and watch the television over fish fingers?' and she'd sit us down at the dinner table, and the minute there was silence, she used to say, 'Talk! I don't care what you talk about, talk about your budgie or your pony but keep the conversation going…" And so I've never been able not to talk. It's in the psyche, not to leave a silence."
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As the Lifestyle Writer at OprahMag.com, I cover beauty, style, relationships & love, work & money, health, and food. When I'm not working, you'll find me watching Bravo, on the hunt for the perfect jeans and white tee, or taking my yorkie, Chloe, out for walks in Riverdale, New York.
