On Thursday, part two of season six of Netflix’s The Crown will premiere; we know it will run up until 2005 and will feature the wedding of then-Prince Charles to then-Camilla Parker Bowles, which took place that April.
After initially meeting and falling for one another in the 1970s, both married other people—he, Princess Diana; she, Andrew Parker-Bowles—but at some point in the 1980s resumed their love affair, which lasted into the 1990s and both Charles and Camilla’s respective divorces. Eight years after Diana’s death in a Parisian car crash in 1997 (which was covered in part one of season six), Charles and Camilla finally married on April 9, 2005, in a civil ceremony held in the Windsor Guildhall, followed by a marital blessing in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Because both Charles and Camilla had been divorced, the couple opted for a civil ceremony rather than a church service, The Independent reports; in doing so, Charles became the first British royal to marry in a civil ceremony. Though she greatly supported Camilla at the end of her life—even encouraging the public to refer to her as “Queen Consort” on what would become her final Accession Day on February 6, 2022—originally Queen Elizabeth was not a supporter of hers and did not attend Charles and Camilla’s wedding. Her late Majesty’s husband, Prince Philip, was also not in attendance; Charles’ sons Prince William and Prince Harry did attend, however, as a show of support for their father.
After it was announced in February 2005 that Charles and Camilla were to be married in two months’ time, Buckingham Palace released a statement that the late Queen would not be in attendance because of her role as head of the Church of England, which discourages divorce. (Enter into the conversation Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend.) “Because the Queen didn’t want to be seen as going against her royal duties, she instead attended the religious service at St. George’s Chapel after the civil ceremony,” The Independent reports.
“The Queen decided not to attend the civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall because the couple wanted to keep the ceremony low-key and her presence would not allow that to happen,” a Palace spokesman told CNN back in 2005. Though she didn’t attend the civil ceremony, her attendance at the religious service was a show of love for her eldest son, and she also hosted a reception for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle later that same day.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, issued a statement at the time clarifying that the arrangements were “consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage,” which Charles had fully accepted “as a committed Anglican” to the church.
At the time, The Telegraph reported that the Queen disapproved of the wedding venue, Windsor Guildhall, because she didn’t want to attend a humiliating “town hall” service. But it wasn’t the location that was the issue, a senior royal aide said: “The venue was never the issue for the Queen,” they said. “The civil nature of the service was the issue. She did not feel it was appropriate for her to attend.”
In September, Netflix teased that the final installment of season six—which doubles as the final installment of the series, period—would show the wedding at St. George’s Chapel, writing on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) “After six seasons, seven years, and three casts, The Crown comes to an end later this year. Here’s a hint at what’s to come in our final season,” read a message written alongside a photo of the program for the royal wedding of Charles and Camilla.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Olivia Rodrigo Finds the Perfect Spring Dresses at Reformation
She's worn the brand twice in the past week.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
Curiously, Just as Meghan Markle Sends Samples of Her New Strawberry Jam Out, the Buckingham Palace Shop Starts Promoting Its Own Strawberry Jam on Social Media
The clip promoting the Buckingham Palace Shop’s product—we cannot make this up—is set to Mozart’s “Dissonance Quartet.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Zendaya's Latest 'Challengers' Serve Is Nearly a Century Old
The 1930s-era dress may have been pulled months ago.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Elizabeth’s Mischievous Side Came Out When “Things Went Wrong” at Royal Engagements, Longtime Aide Remembers
When a cake wouldn’t cut or a plaque didn’t unveil, Her late Majesty apparently “loved it.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Told Queen Elizabeth Through Tears That Her Then-Husband Prince Charles Was “A Nightmare” and That She “Hated” Him, Royal Author Claims
Ingrid Seward’s new book examines the relationship between mother and son, Her late Majesty and her heir, Charles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
New Book Claims Queen Elizabeth Wanted Diana Spencer to Marry Someone Else in the Royal Family, Not Prince Charles
In the leadup to Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding, the Queen had some reservations.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Elizabeth Had a Cutting, Direct Way of Letting Staff Know They Were Wrong or “Out of Favor”
One did not want to awaken Her late Majesty’s disapproval or displeasure.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Kate Middleton Gave an Honest, Eight-Word Assessment About the First Time She Met King Charles
The King and the Princess of Wales—famously close to one another—are both currently hospitalized at The London Clinic.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Elizabeth Hated Princess Beatrice’s Original Name and Forced Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to Change It
She thought the original choice was “too yuppie.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Elizabeth Was Reportedly Angry About the Sussexes' Decision to Name Their Daughter Lilibet
Lilibet was the deeply personal familial nickname of Her late Majesty, only used in the most intimate of circles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published