Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles married on April 9, 2005, in a civil ceremony followed by a church service of prayer and dedication. Although Elizabeth II attended the latter event, she was not present at the civil ceremony. As head of the Church of England, she felt it was inappropriate because both were divorced. Technically, upon her marriage Camilla became the princess of Wales. However, she instead opted for the title of duchess of Cornwall (from one of Charles’s junior titles), largely out of respect for Princess Diana, Charles’s first wife. Camilla and Charles had dated in the early 1970s and resumed their relationship during his marriage to Diana. At the time, Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, whom she divorced in 1995. Charles and Diana divorced the following year, and in 1997 Diana died in a car accident. In the ensuing years a campaign was launched to ease Camilla into public life and rehabilitate her image. Eventually the couple gained widespread acceptance.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style