The coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla marked a new chapter for the Royal Family, an event that seemed almost unimaginable years ago.
Charles and Camilla’s affair during his marriage to Princess Diana was one of the most explosive royal scandals, casting a long shadow over Camilla’s public image. The love story between Charles and Camilla began before his marriage to Diana, but they parted ways, leading Camilla to marry Andrew Parker Bowles and have two children, while Charles married Diana in a lavish royal wedding at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Despite their respective marriages, Charles and Camilla rekindled their romance, with Diana alleging it had continued from the early days of her marriage. Diana spoke of the hurt caused by their relationship, famously telling BBC’s Panorama, “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
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Despite being younger than Charles and Diana and facing mental health problems, Diana stood up for herself and her marriage, according to a former royal protection officer. She later referred to confronting the affair as the “bravest moment” of her marriage.
In an interview with ITV, Ken Wharfe revealed a tense confrontation that took place at a party hosted by Camilla’s sister. The event was attended by none of Diana’s friends, making it surprising when the Princess of Wales decided to show up.
Wharfe described the scene, saying: “Diana didn’t have any particular friendships at that party but when we arrived there, it was almost like freeze-framing a scene in a movie because there was this surprise that Diana had even arrived.”
About an hour into the party, Diana sought out her personal protection officer. He said: “I went out and there was Diana, who said ‘You’ve got to come with me, I can’t find my husband or Camilla’. Now, I couldn’t say no, clearly, this woman was in some distress, and eventually, we found the Prince and Camilla sat on a sofa in the basement of this property just talking.”
Diana then confronted Camilla for the first time, according to Wharfe. “I didn’t know quite what Diana was going to do at that point but, with a great deal of confidence, Diana just went up to both of them and said to Camilla ‘please don’t treat me like an idiot, I know what’s going on’.
“And Camilla sort of said something, to which still to this day I have never really understood what she meant by that is ‘well you know, you have two wonderful boys’. Well, it was an incredible moment for me and certainly for them as well. That was a defining moment in their life because I think at that point… this was an indicator the end was nigh.”
Charles and Diana split in 1992, and in a few short years, by 1995, they were officially divorced. Tragically, just two years later, Diana was fatally injured in a Paris car crash. Eventually, in 2005, Camilla married Charles in a civil ceremony held in Windsor.
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