King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Italy today – their 20th wedding anniversary – despite the King’s recent health scare. He was kept under observation in hospital several weeks ago having experienced “temporary side effects” following his cancer treatment. While some of his engagements were cancelled, the official visit to Italy has still gone ahead.
The couple, who first met some 50 years ago at a polo match in Windsor Great Park, exchanged vows in 2005 during a low-key ceremony in Windsor Guildhall before enjoying a reception hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The day signalled the end of a somewhat untraditional and, on occasion, rather unsteady and unpleasant path. But it was also the beginning of what has grown into an unwavering partnership, as royal expert Jennie Bond exclusively tells OK!.
She said: “Back in the 1990s, it seemed an absolute impossibility that Charles could ever be seen publicly with the woman he loved, let alone marry her and make her his Queen.
“They treasure every single day together now, and their love has only grown deeper as the years go by. Charles is a sentimental man and I think he will be forever grateful that he was finally given the chance to marry a woman he fell for so many years ago. His own father once described him as ‘a romantic’ and I think this anniversary will mean a great deal to him.
“For anybody suffering with cancer, you are very aware of your mortality, and every milestone becomes more important or more meaningful. So last week may have been a wake-up call for Charles, but it was only a minor setback, and no more so than for anyone else suffering with cancer.
“That said, their anniversary may well be extra special for them now – as every life event will be.”
Charles, 76, and Camilla, 77, will break their tradition of spending wedding anniversaries privately at Balmoral in Scotland, and are instead together on an official tour in Italy. The date, April 9, falls midway through the trip, which will include state visits to Rome and Ravenna.
A visit to the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church in the Vatican, has been postponed due to the Pope’s recent illness. While their tour schedule will no doubt keep them busy, Jennie expects they will still find time to celebrate privately.
Jennie explained: “Spending a wedding anniversary in Italy sounds incredibly romantic, and both Charles and Camilla do love Italy, so I would hope that the organisers of the trip, particularly after this setback, make sure they do have a little bit of private time on their anniversary.
“Like any loving wife, I suspect Camilla will try to keep Charles’ ambitions and activities in check. She is probably the only person who can effectively nag Charles to take it a little bit easy.
“I think Camilla will want to fuss around him that little bit more at the moment. I imagine she has been taking extra care of him over the past weekend, and encouraging him to put his feet up and leave work behind. I think she’ll be trying very hard to persuade him to take it easy.”
Of course, the couple’s love story was not all a bed of roses. While royal historian Hugo Vickers tells us “they just clicked” when first crossing paths, it would be almost 30 years before they were introduced as an official couple.
In those intervening years Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, and became father to Prince William and Prince Harry, while Camilla wed British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles and had two children, Tom and Laura.
After Diana’s famous “there were three of us in this marriage” interview, followed by her tragic death in 1997, the thought of Camilla and Charles ever even becoming an official couple, let alone husband and wife of 20 years, was near impossible, Hugo says.
He says: “For a long time, people like me would have told you there was absolutely no way Charles could marry Camilla, that it was absolutely out of the question and wasn’t going to happen. But it did happen – and it worked.”
Camilla once described the public backlash as “deeply unpleasant”, but the support she received from those close to her, especially from King Charles, kept their hope and connection alive. Their devotion has been unwavering, and was never more evident than over the last year following King Charles’ cancer diagnosis.
“There is clearly a rod of steel that runs through her. She is so strong, so resilient,” says royal author Katie Nicholl. “She also has a great sense of herself and an ability to overcome all sorts of adversity. Those are the qualities you really see in her when the going gets tough – and it did get tough last year.
“Not only was she having to care for King Charles, but she also had to stand in for him and carry out engagements on his behalf. And she had to reassure the public that their King was OK.”
Katie says Camilla’s naturally positive outlook is evident in everything she does, and it does wonders for her relationship with her husband. It is also, she adds, incredibly genuine.
“If you look back at her time travelling up and down the country [while the monarch was unwell], she was always smiling for the crowds, always having a word of encouragement about the King, about his health battle. She never let the mask slip. The laughter is spontaneous, the smile is genuine. I think she’s incredibly authentic.”
Camilla received the late Queen’s official seal of approval in 2022 when she expressed her wish that her daughter-in-law be known as Queen Consort upon her son’s accession to the throne. And Camilla is widely credited with having a soothing effect on her husband.
Royal photographer Arthur Edwards recalls the moment Camilla calmed him down after the famous leaky pen incident, when the King became frustrated over a leaking fountain pen a few days after his mother’s death in September 2022.
“She’s got an amazing way to soothe him; she makes him laugh. She’s just always there to support him – that’s her way,” he says, adding, “He’s now a much happier person. He’s contented. And he always refers to her as ‘my darling wife’.”
Shortly after celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in private at the Birkhall estate in Royal Deeside, Charles delivered a glowing tribute to his wife. He told an American news channel, “It’s always marvellous to have somebody who you feel understands and wants to encourage, although she certainly pokes fun if I get too serious about things. And all that helps.”
Royal expert Jennie says the Queen’s “least said, soonest mended” approach, and their ability to laugh together, is what keeps them “happily glued together”. There have been some wonderful displays of their frivolity over the years, including footage of the couple in fits of laughter at a garden party, prompted by a performance of sound sculptor Henry Dagg’s ‘Cat Organ’.
“They are terrific gigglers and set one another off sometimes in public, which makes it all the harder to stop,” Jennie says. “They have a great sense of fun and that can see you through most of the things that life throws at you.
“They have a marriage that works, and works well. Together they are like a comfy old pair of slippers – quiet companions on a winter’s night, happy to sit in the same room in silence reading their books by a log fire.”
There will likely be little time for log fires and reading in Italy, where the King is expected to meet the country’s president and prime minister – and become the first UK monarch to address both houses of the Italian parliament.
Meanwhile, Camilla, who is known for championing causes relating to women and children, is due to meet Catholic sisters from the International Union of Superiors General, which works with causes such as improved access to healthcare and the prevention of sexual violence. The couple have also been invited to a state banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale.
But in their limited downtime, Jennie says, the couple will want to take a few moments for their own private celebration, especially given Charles’ health. “A 20th wedding anniversary is always special, but obviously this one, and every milestone now, has extra significance because of the King’s cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment.
“They were always going to treasure every day that they could be together and be married. But both Charles and Camilla must now feel that every day is a bonus – to be enjoyed together and to be treasured.”
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