Queen Camilla's First Love Kevin Burke Has Passed Away at 77
The two met during the queen's days as a debutante.
Queen Camilla's first love, Kevin Burke, has sadly passed away at age 77. Long before she married King Charles in 2005, she met Burke as a young debutante who frequented high society soirees, according to the Daily Mail. Burke is believed to have died earlier this month, of an unknown cause, and his family is asking for donations to be made to the British Heart Foundation in his honor. The funeral will be held next month.
The royal, who was known as Milla Shand, was thought to have met her late first love after her coming out party in Knightsbridge in 1965. The queen and Burke were ages 17 and 19, respectively. In the years since Burke had only wonderful things to say about the queen.
"Every night, we had two or three cocktail parties to go to and a dance and a couple of dances to choose from at weekends in the country," he revealed in Jessica Jayne's biography, The Duchess of Cornwall: Camilla's Stories and Secrets. "It was the best fun, and I had the best and most fun partner you could possibly wish for. Camilla was immensely popular, and although she wasn't a beauty, she was attractive and sexy."
Unfortunately, their relationship ended, and Burke was left heartbroken. "I remained with Camilla all that year. I suppose we were in love, and then she ditched me. Why? Well, the short answer is that she was having a ball in London," he explained in the book.
After his relationship with the queen, he went on to marry advertising executive Peta Baker, before divorcing 14 years later in 2001. He then wed former head-hunter Luisa Fairey, and became a father at 58.
The queen married her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, in 1973, with whom she had two children, Tom and Laura. They divorced in 1995.
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Paulina is the Weekend Editor at Cosmopolitan.com. When she isn’t covering celeb and pop culture news, she can be found listening to Taylor Swift, watching a teen drama (One Tree Hill is her favorite), or perfecting her skincare routine.
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