In July 1997, then-Prince Charles threw a grand birthday party for Camilla Parker Bowles at Highgrove, his country home. The event was the focus of season six, episode one of The Crown, and by all accounts, it was similar to how the royal drama portrayed the party.
A year before, Charles and Princess Diana's divorce was finalized, and this was a major event announcing Camilla as an important person in Charles's wife. The birthday was the first joint event for Charles and Camilla, and according to the Guardian, writing in 1997, "It has been interpreted as an attempt to bring their relationship into the open.
It's unclear King Charles tried to convince his mother, Queen Elizabeth, to go to the party, as The Crown depicts, and the 80 person guest list has remained secret. Yet, the timeline of Charles throwing this party for Camilla while Diana vacationed in the South of France was accurate.
As the Irish Times reported at the time, "After a week in which the British newspapers have been filled with photographs of Princess Diana on holiday in the south of France, their attention switched to last night's 50th birthday celebrations of Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles, the woman described as 'the future Queen.'"
In confirmed attendance were Camilla's father, Major Bruce Shand; her ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles; Tiggy Legge Bourke, William and Harry's former nanny; and Nicholas Soames, an equerry to Charles. At the time, Princess Diana, along with Princes William and Harry, was vacationing in Saint Tropez with the Fayed family.
In the episode, Charles (Dominic West) makes a toast in celebration of Camilla (Olivia Williams). "As one gets older, one starts to realize what one really values in life," he says. "One's health. One's family. And one's friends. The people who enrich our lives, and who we can't bear to be without. Well, tonight, ladies and gentleman, we're all here to celebrate a person, who, I'm afraid, I can't bear to be without."
He continues, "Darling, all of us here can testify to your quite exceptional warmth and generosity. But, again and again, I've been struck by something else. And that is your heroism. Because over the years, there have been many people out there, who know nothing about you, who've been quite staggeringly unkind and unfair. Now, the easy thing for you to do, the understandable thing, would have been to walk away. But you haven't. You've stuck with it. And you've stuck with me. And for that, I am eternally grateful."
Whatever toast the real Prince Charles may have made at the birthday dinner is not known to the public, but it's clear that this sentiment rings true—Charles and Camilla are still together to this day.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
