If you’ve watched any recent royal drama, you probably think you know the score. A young, floppy-haired Prince Charles meets a bold Camilla Shand, they fall in love, and then a group of shadowy men in grey suits pulls them apart to make room for a "virgin" bride.
It makes for great television. Honestly, it’s a bit more complicated in real life.
When we talk about prince charles and camilla younger years, we’re looking at a messy, 1970s landscape of polo matches, naval deployments, and some truly outdated social rules that feel like they belong in the Middle Ages. They weren't just two star-crossed lovers. They were two people who actually missed their window because of timing, indecision, and a guy named Andrew Parker Bowles.
The Polo Match Myth and the Real First Meeting
Most people swear they met at a rainy polo match in Windsor Great Park in 1970. You know the story: Camilla leans over and mentions that her great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was the mistress of Charles’s great-great-grandfather, Edward VII.
"My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather. I feel we have something in common," she reportedly said.
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Whether she actually used that line is still debated by biographers like Gyles Brandreth, but it’s a killer opening. However, many royal historians now point to a more private introduction in 1971 at the home of a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz. Lucia was the daughter of the Chilean ambassador and had actually dated Charles herself. Talk about an awkward dinner party.
Basically, Charles was smitten immediately. He loved that she wasn't "fawning" over him. Unlike the other girls in his circle who were terrified of saying the wrong thing to the future King, Camilla laughed at his jokes. She liked hunting. She liked the outdoors. She was, in his words, "blissful" to be around.
Why They Didn't Just Get Married in 1972
This is the big question. If they were so in love, why did Charles go off to the Caribbean with the Royal Navy without asking her to wait for him?
- The "Virginity" Obsession: In the early '70s, the palace—specifically Lord Mountbatten—believed the Princess of Wales had to be "pure." Camilla had a "past." She had been in a long-term, on-again-off-again relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles since 1965. In the eyes of the royal institution, this made her "unsuitable" for the role of Queen.
- Charles’s Indecision: He was only 23 or 24. He wasn't ready to settle down. He was being told by his mentor, Mountbatten, to "sow his wild oats."
- The Andrew Factor: While Charles was pining, Andrew Parker Bowles was pursuing. Andrew was a dashing cavalry officer who, oddly enough, had also dated Charles’s sister, Princess Anne. The social circles back then were tiny and, frankly, kind of incestuous.
While Charles was thousands of miles away on the HMS Frigate Minerva, Andrew proposed. Camilla said yes.
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When Charles heard the news, he was devastated. He wrote to Mountbatten about his "blissful, peaceful and mutually happy relationship" ending so abruptly. He felt like he’d lost his soulmate, but at the time, he didn't have the backbone to defy the family and stop the wedding.
The 1970s Timeline: A Closer Look
Looking at the prince charles and camilla younger era, it wasn't all secret pining. They actually stayed incredibly close after her 1973 wedding.
- 1973: Camilla marries Andrew Parker Bowles. Charles is heartbroken but remains a "dear friend."
- 1974: Charles is named godfather to Camilla’s first child, Tom. He’s essentially a fixture in their household.
- 1978-1979: Most biographers, including Penny Junor, suggest their physical affair actually began (or restarted) around this time, shortly before Charles met Diana.
It’s a bit of a gut punch when you realize that by the time Lady Diana Spencer entered the picture in 1980, the Charles-and-Camilla bond was already ten years deep. It wasn't a "new" fling. It was a decade of shared history, inside jokes, and a level of comfort that a 19-year-old Diana could never compete with.
The "Three of Us" Problem
By the time the wedding of the century happened in 1981, Camilla was there. She was in the pews. Diana later admitted she was looking for Camilla as she walked down the aisle.
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The tragic part? Charles and Camilla’s younger selves probably could have handled the pressure if they’d just been allowed to marry in 1972. Instead, the palace pushed for a "perfect" bride, which led to a decade of misery for everyone involved.
What We Can Learn From the Young Charles and Camilla
Looking back, the story isn't just about cheating or scandal. It’s about the total failure of rigid social structures. The "rules" that made Camilla unsuitable in 1970 are the same ones that nearly destroyed the monarchy in the 90s.
If you're looking for the real takeaway here, it’s about timing. They had the right connection but the wrong status.
Actionable Insights from This History:
- Understand the Context: When researching royal history, always look at the influence of Lord Mountbatten. He was the architect of Charles's early dating life.
- Check Your Sources: Biographies by Penny Junor (pro-Camilla) and Andrew Morton (pro-Diana) offer wildly different perspectives on the same events. Read both to find the truth in the middle.
- Look at the Letters: Published letters from King Charles III show a much more sensitive, insecure young man than the media portrayed at the time.
The reality is that prince charles and camilla younger were two people who found exactly what they wanted in each other, but were told by everyone else that it wasn't enough. It took another thirty years, two divorces, and a national tragedy for the world to finally let them be.