As King Charles and Queen Camilla celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary, we look back at their love story
WORDS: REBECCA RUSSELL
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
Every wedding anniversary is special, but for King Charles and Queen Camilla, this week’s milestone date will bring with it added poignancy and a time for reflection.
It’s 19 years since the royal couple made their vows in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall, watched by a global audience of millions, as they finally tied the knot 35 years after they first met.
However, despite their memories of the joy of that momentous occasion, it is open to question whether the King and his Consort will mark the occasion with a large celebration or party.
After all, the King is continuing with his treatment for cancer and, although he was pictured looking well at the recent Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle, he is under doctor’s orders not to overdo it. Meanwhile, their beloved daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, is facing her own battle with the disease.
Instead, the couple may use the landmark day to contemplate how far they have come as a partnership, the storms they have weathered along the way, and the hurdles they must face in the months and years to come.
“Camilla is the King’s soulmate, his rock, his sounding board, his best friend and, as he always says, his ‘darling wife’,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond tells OK!, as she reflects on the couple’s many years together. “She soothes him, comforts him and makes him laugh.”
It was at their wedding on 9 April 2005 – first a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, followed by a religious blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle – that they were finally allowed to make their love for one another official. Almost two decades on, their vows to keep one another in sickness and in health ring truer today than ever before.
“There’s no doubt that illness, particularly in old age, focuses the mind on how important family and friends are in our lives – as well as on how much we love and depend on our partners when the going gets tough,” says Jennie. “I’m sure Camilla will have been clucking around Charles like a mother hen.
“Facing his cancer treatment together will give the King strength and support and, I believe, will only deepen their love. I’m sure Camilla’s fortitude in all this will have made Charles even more proud of her than he already was. He will have
