Charles & Camilla celebrate 15th anniversary with new photo as The Sun’s snapper Arthur Edwards shares his favourites
TODAY Prince Charles and his wife Camilla celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.
And it is crystal clear from this picture of them at home on the Balmoral estate yesterday that they are as much in love as they were the day they tied the knot.
I have followed the royal couple on engagements all over the world and seen first-hand that they were meant for each other.
Three years ago, on the eve of their 12th wedding anniversary, I was with them on a plane heading home from a successful tour of Canada.
I remarked: “Congratulations on your anniversary tomorrow.”
Camilla turned to Charles and asked him: “Did you remember?”
The prince confessed: “I forgot.” Camilla shook her head and laughed: “Typical man!”
Together they are a great team. Happy crystal anniversary to you both.
Here I share some of my other favourite pictures of the couple.
The wedding
CAMILLA looked a million dollars on her wedding day, which took place in Windsor.
I have been told that for many people, this was the day when they finally began to warm to her.
Although some doom-mongers predicted it would all end in tears the couple have now been married four years longer than Charles’s first marriage, to Diana.
From the start it was obvious Camilla made the prince incredibly happy.
They were always laughing and clearly enjoyed each other’s company.
Commonwealth meeting in Malta, 2015
WHEN the Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker-Bowles, they were a couple in their fifties who had both been through divorce.
I took this picture of them during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in November 2015.
It really sums up the joy they still feel in each other’s company as a husband and wife now in their early seventies.
Camilla, in her tiara and Bruce Oldfield ballgown, is looking magnificent for the official banquet.
The way she looks at the prince is quite lovely.
The engagement
CAMILLA was very nervous the first time I took an official photo of them together.
It was their engagement picture at Windsor in 2005 and, remember, this was the woman Diana had called the third person in her marriage to Charles.
Someone asked the duchess: “Did he get down on his knee when he proposed?” And she said: “Yes, of course he did.”
Then she showed me the ring and it quickly dawned on me that, despite some negative headlines, she seemed to be such a nice person.
The honeymoon
ON the third day of their honeymoon in the Highlands, the couple cut a ribbon to open a children’s playground in Ballater, near Balmoral.
Camilla looked straight at the camera and her face lit up.
I have been lucky enough to see that look many more times since. And we saw that red coat a few more times too.
I came to realise that the Duchess of Cornwall was not fazed about wearing the same outfit – she didn’t care.
She said: “It’s a good coat and I will wear it as much as I can.”
Saudi trip, 2006
ON a trip to Saudi Arabia in 2006 – less than a year after their wedding – I took a photo of them in the VIP terminal at Riyadh airport.
It tells you every-thing about this royal couple. They had been on separate engagements and came together at the top of the escalator and were discussing their day.
Charles and Camilla are in a world of their own.
There’s absolute joy on their faces, enjoying the laughter.
I was thrilled when I took this picture, it’s one of my favourites as Camilla is so informal.
Stopping for a pint
SEEING a member of the Royal Family supping a pint of bitter in a pub with her husband was a unique moment.
When they poured the pints together behind the bar of a pub in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in July 2005, as ever, Camilla could see the funny side.
Afterwards they visited a hospice and later met some Masai warriors from Kenya dancing in the town square.
They presented Camilla with a traditional wedding necklace and Charles was given a walking stick.
Pakistan tour, 2006
ON a tour of Pakistan in 2006, Charles was given a traditional Chitral hat worn by tribesmen in the north of the country.
Looking for an unusual picture, I asked: “Would you wear it, Sir?”
He promptly, and probably sensibly, said ‘No’. Then passed it to me, but I insisted “No, you try it on!”
Camilla saw the joke immediately. She was absolutely loving it.
Camilla and Charles are so in tune and their sense of humour is incredible.
She is so enthusiastic about everything she does.
North African trip
DURING a 2006 trip to El Alamein in North Africa, where Camilla’s father Major Bruce Shand fought in World War Two, the couple visited a desert town called Siwa.
It was a hot day, so Charles wore a battered old hat and Camilla was in a beautiful one with a wide brim.
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They came to a slope and Camilla was struggling to walk.
She linked her arm through his – it was just so natural.
It was a very moving occasion for Camilla because her father lost two of his crew at the Battle of El Alamein.
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