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    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Why Queen Camilla "Reportedly Felt a Little Broken" on Her Wedding Day to King Charles, According to a New Royal Biography

    She was "reluctant to emerge from under her duvet."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 18 July 2026 In News

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    Queen Camilla wears off-white and pale green on her wedding day, including a white hat, to marry King Charles in 2005
    (Image credit: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images/CHRIS YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images)
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    Queen Camilla and King Charles's romance has spanned decades, with the pair finally tying the knot on April 9, 2005. But according to a new royal biography, Queen Camilla wasn't entirely joyous on her wedding day for an understandable reason.

    In her new book, Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles, royal author Catherine Mayer discusses Camilla's royal wedding to Charles.

    "When dawn finally broke on her happiest day, Camilla reportedly felt a little broken too, reluctant to emerge from under her duvet," Mayer explains. "When she did, it was to a service that joined her and Charles in the prayer of preparation, an admission of 'manifold sins and wickedness' written by Thomas Cranmer for Henry VIII."

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    The seeming insistence on pointing out the couple's former indiscretions on their wedding day can't have been easy. In spite of any difficulties Camilla faced on the day itself, she reportedly moved forward.

    "Still, this daughter and ex-wife of military men has never allowed adversity to rain on her parade," Mayer says.

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    Divide and Rule

    Catherine Mayer
    'Divide and Rule'
    $28
    SHOP NOW

    Mayer continues, "Photographers captured the couple laughing as they posed on the steps of the chapel after the blessing, while the wind tried to whip away the feathered confection Camilla had chosen in place of a more traditional tiara. It was a glimpse of a key dynamic between them."

    Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles' 2005 wedding day

    "The wind tried to whip away the feathered confection Camilla had chosen in place of a more traditional tiara."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Noting King Charles's alleged "discomfort" when pictured with Princess Diana, Mayer reflects on the marked change he seems to exhibit with Queen Camilla.

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    "He and Camilla, by contrast, tend to mirror each other, engaging with a sustaining intimacy that is instantly recognizable and impossible to counterfeit," Mayer writes.

    Queen Camilla and King Charles smiling on their wedding day

    "He and Camilla, by contrast, tend to mirror each other."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles at their 2005 wedding

    King Charles and Queen Camilla at their wedding on April 9, 2005.

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Even if Camilla did feel "a little broken" on her wedding day to Charles, hopefully the ceremony itself—and their enduring marriage—more than made up for it.

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    Weekend Editor

    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.

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