Why Queen Camilla Was Scared About Marrying King Charles

Queen Camilla wears a pink hat and pink suit jacket with a cream scarf and looks tearfully at husband King Charles — (Image credit: Dylan Martinez - Pool/Getty Images)

King Charles and Queen Camilla appear to have an extremely happy marriage, but the road to everlasting love was far from smooth. In fact, according to one royal expert, Camilla was initially "frightened" by the idea of becoming King Charles's wife.

In her book, My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward shared, "The full implication of what it would mean to be Prince Charles's wife frightened Camilla, and she was strident in her refusal to be sucked into the vortex of royal life."

Seward continued, "She persuaded Charles it would not be a good idea to consider marriage, telling friends the prospect was 'farcical' and that it would never happen as he would always put his duty first."

Article continues below

However, King Charles was reportedly keen to marry Camilla and wanted her to find her place within the Royal Family.

"Charles desperately wanted Camilla accepted by his family, especially The Queen, and refused to contemplate her hiding away," the royal author shared.

King Charles and Queen Camilla standing in front of Prince William and Princess Kate — "Charles desperately wanted Camilla accepted by his family."

Ingrid Seward

'My Mother and I'

Prior to Princess Diana's unexpected and tragic death in August 1997, Camilla and Charles had been gradually making their romance public. However, the devastating news of Diana's death shifted the focus and caused Camilla to retreat from publicly embracing her relationship with Charles.

"She realized she was a long way from being accepted as [King Charles's] consort, but she had to make the effort for his sake," Seward explained.

The royal author continued, "If it hadn't been for the fickleness of public opinion and the restraining hand of his advisors, Charles would have gone public with Camilla a good deal earlier."

Queen Camilla and King Charles in formalwear at the Nigerian state banquet — "It was Camilla who persuaded him that she was quite happy with how things were."

As for why The King was so steadfast in his belief he should be able to have a public relationship with Camilla, Seward shared, "He was used to getting his own way and it was Camilla who persuaded him that she was quite happy with how things were."

According to the royal biographer, Camilla's caution won, with Queen Elizabeth agreeing that the pair needed to take any sort of public romance slowly.

Eventually, Camilla and Charles would tie the knot—on April 9, 2005. But it appears as though Camilla wasn't in a rush to get married again.

TOPICS

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.