Scandals have long accompanied the British Royal Family, but one of the most significant, which shook the monarchy to its core at the time, was the relationship between then-Prince Charles and his current wife Camilla.
When the country and the entire world knew about their affair, both were married to other people.
The general public criticized their affair, believing Camilla was to blame for the failing marriage between the heir to the throne and Lady Di, the princess who captured millions of hearts, not just in Britain but across the world.
Speaking of the troubles in her marriage and the reasons for its failure, Diana told Martin Bashir during a televised interview, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Charles and Camilla’s love, which began before he met Diana, is genuine, and this is clear.
They met through a common friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the Chilean ambassador. They began dating, but the relationship did not last long since Charles went to join the Royal Navy. When his responsibilities there ended and he returned home, Camilla had already proposed to her now-ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.
Nonetheless, they remained close. Even after Charles married Diana, he and Camilla maintained contact.
According to royal biographer Penny Junior, Charles knew he wasn’t in love with his future bride Diana, but it was too late to cancel the wedding.
“Charles was not convinced he was doing the right thing in marrying Diana but there was no way out and, bolstered by the hope that things would be different once they were married, he put a brave face on it,” she wrote. This was reported by the Mirror.
What’s most, Camilla and Diana knew each other and got along, but then things changed.
“I met [Camilla] very early on. I was introduced to the circle, but I was a threat, I was a very young girl, but I was a threat,” Diana explained in the book Diana: In Her Own Words.
Fast forward to the present day, and Charles is King of Britain, with Camilla as Queen.
Camilla has grown in popularity among the British people throughout the years. The two are now the country’s leaders and are still happily married, although Camilla was once scared to leave her home for fear of the public’s reaction to the disclosure of her affair.
Speaking with OK Magazine, royal analyst Angela Levin, author of the 2022 book Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: A Royal Survivor, stated that Camilla faced “torrents” of hatred from the public once the affair was disclosed. She didn’t even go to the stores; instead, her buddies ran her errands for her.
“It was extremely difficult for her because she was portrayed as the most wicked woman in the world.” She was often called awful names like ‘rottweiler,’ and it must have come as a tremendous surprise that people were so mean to her,” Levin added.
In order to protect her, it was revealed that Charles paid for Camilla’s security for years, or until 2005 when the two tied the knot. “I don’t think Charles realised how awful it was for her. He was often away on engagements and working hard for the country and Commonwealth, and at the time, Camilla didn’t have protection officers because she wasn’t part of the Royal Family. But when Charles finally realised, he did get protection for her, which he paid for himself,” Levine revealed.
Queen Camilla’s path to the royal family has been fraught with difficulties, but she has always had her husband’s backing.
Annabel Elliot, too, was usually by Camilla’s side.
Annabel and Camilla are more than sisters; they are the best of friends. Annabel has been running Annabel Elliot Interior Design and Antiques in Dorset for almost 30 years, and in 2014 she was named the sixth most prominent female interior designer in the United Kingdom.
It was on Annabel’s 50th birthday party that Charles and Camilla first posed together in public and stole she show. Later, amid the divorce of Charles and Diana, it was Annabel who drove the car that whisked Camilla away from public view and the notorious paparazzi press.
Annabel eventually became a close member of the royal family, particularly with Charles, with whom she was said to have clashed on occasion, particularly when she believed he was attempting to perform the majority of what she was paid to do himself.
“He always likes to be completely involved and know what’s being suggested,” Annabel stated in the 2012 ITV documentary The Royal Restoration.
“He’s looking at every piece of material — ‘What’s this for?, Is that for a chair? Where’s that sourced from? Has it got nylon in it?’ He doesn’t like duvets.”
The queen’s sister added, “He brings her everything. I’m not going to get into all of this, but you know, he has so much knowledge and interest in so many other topics that she wouldn’t have been receptive to till she met him. They are their yin and yang; they are polar opposites, but it works perfectly.”
Annabel was hired to work on the then-Prince of Wales’ new mansion in Wales, Llwywormwood, which he purchased in 2006 for more than £1 million.
The Telegraph stated at the time that Charles’ sister-in-law was paid more than $380,000 for her services between 2005 and 2008, which some MPs saw as cronyism, but Charles disagreed.
“There was no tender.” The Prince knows her and admires her work. “Annabel Elliot is an established interior designer,” a Clarence House representative stated at the time.
This wasn’t the only time Annabel worked for the royals. She also designed 12 Duchy of Cornwall cottages and ran a 2012 project to convert a “run-down barn building” into an elegant guesthouse on the grounds of Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, becoming Charles’ chief interior designer.
Camilla and Annabel remain in close contact to this day.
Annabel has been married to Simon Elliot since 1972, and they have three children, including Ben Elliot, a businessman and Conservative Party fundraiser who served as Co-Chairman from July 2019 to September 2022.
Of course, Annabel and her family attended King Charles’ coronation last year.
“When I remembered being two years old and watching the Queen’s Coronation on a tiny black and white screen, there went this golden coach with my sister in it. I can’t articulate how I feel since it’s so unreal. This can’t be happening. “It was quite a moment,” Annabel explained.
“Going into the Abbey, I guess I was nervous all the time since she’s a lot smaller than me. I’m thinking, “Is she going to be okay?”