Exclusive
QUEEN OF CAM
Camilla and Diana are completely different – the Queen is supportive and they laugh a lot, expert says
Watch the royal expert speak of how 'determined' Camilla is in The Sun's Royal Exclusive show
QUEEN Camilla and Princess Diana are very different people, an expert has told The Sun's Royal Exclusive show.
Ever since the monarch, 75, took a step back from duties to undergo cancer treatment, his wife has bravely led the Royal Family.
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A stoic Queen Camila has been putting on a brave face at public appearances.
Royal photographer Arthur Edwards spoke on The Sun's Royal Exclusive show and said: "The King is carrying a heavy load but Camilla is supporting and helping him.
"I saw the years with Diana, I worked 17 years with her and she was the superstar, she was the absolute star of the family, she was the Kate at that time.
"I remember Charles said in Australia once, 'I think I should have two wives walking either side of the street, because when I'm with her, no one wants to talk to me, they all shout out to her.
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"But Camilla is the complete opposite, she's there to support him.
"I remember when I was in Deli, when they were opening the common wealth games, and they wanted Camilla to sit somewhere else and she said 'no I'm sitting next to my husband' and she did.
"She's determined to support him. They laugh a lot, but she's no doormat, she will stand up to him, she won't be bullied.
"They're incredibly happy together and she will be there supporting him whatever happens to the very end.
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"She would never say a bad word about Harry, or anyone, that's not her way. She's kind, lovely, positive about life.
"I've known Camilla since the 70s when she was in the same cross country team as Charles, and she used to hunt with him.
King Charles will recover from cancer - I've been watching him and Camilla and I'm sure I can tell
"We're so lucky she's now our Queen, she's done and doing a brilliant job."
It comes as just this week Camilla led the royal party at St. George's Chapel for the memorial service in honour of late King Constantine of Greece.
Both King Charles and Prince William, who has also ramped up royal duties while Princess Kate recovers from abdominal surgery, missed the occasion.
The Prince of Wales pulled out of the Thanksgiving service at the last-minute due to a "personal matter".
How King Charles met Camilla: A timeline of their relationship
YOUNG LOVE
Charles and Camilla’s relationship began back in 1971 when the pair were introduced by mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz.
Aged 23 they quickly became close friends talking for hours on the phone and spending as much time together as possible.
Charles reportedly fell for her quickly, but their relationship never progressed amid warnings from his great-uncle Lord Mountbatten who she was not sufficiently aristocratic ultimately leading the pair to go their separate ways.
After they started, Charles left to serve in the Royal Navy, he returned to find her engaged to another man: Andrew Parker Bowles, who had himself dated Charles' sister, Princess Anne.
Camilla got engaged to and married Andrew in 1973, while Charles wed Princess Diana on July 29, 1981.
THREE’S A CROWD
But it seems that neither Charles nor Camilla could stay away from one another.
Diana recounted her “tricky” relationship to Andrew Morton for the 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words.
She claimed that before her wedding, she found out Charles had a bracelet made with the initials "G" and "F" for Gladys and Fred – pet names Camilla and Charles had for each other.
She also found photos of Camilla in Charles' diary on their honeymoon, as well as cufflinks with the initials "C" and "C" intertwined.
CONTROVERSIAL COUPLE
Five years on from their spectacular wedding, Charles and Diana's marriage was lost – with Camilla firmly back in the picture.
In 1994, Charles admitted to Jonathan Dimbleby in a TV documentary that while he had been faithful to Diana initially, he had only been so until his marriage had "irretrievably broken down".
Diana found out about the affair and, in 1989, confronted Camilla about it at a party.
Diana and Charles went on to separate completely in 1991 and, five years later, they divorced.
The Princess of Wales famously outed their affair to Martin Bashir in an interview that shocked the world.
"There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," she said.
REUNITED
It wasn’t until two years after Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997 that Charles and Camilla stepped out publicly as a couple.
In 1999, after throwing a party for Camilla’s sister at The Ritz in London, the pair were photographed together as an item.
But following public outrage, the couple kept their romance on the lowdown with Camilla describing the backlash as “hell” and something she “wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.”
In fact, Camilla waited until 2000 to meet the Queen and the couple didn’t share the first kiss in public until 2001.
In 2003 the couple moved into their current home of Clarence House and two years later the couple announced their engagement.
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
When the then Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker-Bowles, they were a couple in their fifties who had both been through divorces.
The pair tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on April 9 2005.
"It’s always marvellous to have somebody you feel understands and wants to encourage,” Charles said, the Telegraph reports.
“Although she certainly pokes fun if I get too serious about things. And all that helps.”
The couple celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary in April this year and Camilla has stood by Charles’ side as he settles into his role as King.
He was expected to give a reading but instead Prince Pavlos, the son of King Constantine, stepped in.
Kensington Palace would not elaborate further but added that Kate is doing well following her op in January.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday Camilla welcomed Ukraine’s First Lady to Clarence House.
Olena Zelenska visited the queen and thanked her for the King’s support of Ukraine on this week’s second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Also this week, the Her Majesty rubbed shoulders with Hollywood stars including Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans and Hugh Bonneville at Buckingham Palace.
She held the star-studded glitzy even for the BBC’s 500 Words competition in the Palace ballroom.
Throughout all the public appearances, Camilla has been supporting her husband in his health battles, from a prostate corrective procedure in January, to ongoing cancer treatment.
In addition, the queen has been his "rock" amid the stress of Prince Harry's Good Morning America interview.
The duke, 39, revealed his hopes that Charles’ cancer fight would help build familial bridges.
ROYAL LOVE STORY
Charles and Camilla forged a friendship in 1971 when mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz introduced them.
The future King, aged 23 at the time, was reportedly head over heels for Camilla.
But, his great uncle Lord Mountbatten put an end to the potential romance on the grounds Camilla was not of high enough aristocracy.
When Charles returned from serving in the Royal Navy, Camilla was engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles.
Andrew Parker Bowles had previously dated Charles' sister, Princess Anne.
Camilla and Andrew tied the knot in 1973, and Charles married Princess Diana on July 29, 1981.
However, Charles and Camila later rekindled their relationship and Diana famously recounted her “tricky” relationship to Andrew Morton for the 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words.
Diana exposed then their affair to Martin Bashir in an interview that shocked the world.
"There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," she said.
Two years after Diana's tragic death, Charles and Camilla officially declared their relationship.
Camilla then waited until 2000 to meet the Queen and the couple didn’t share the first kiss in public until 2001 after their partnership sparked major backlash.
In 2003 the pair moved into Clarence House and two years later they announced their engagement.
The pair wed in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on April 9 2005.
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The couple celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary in April this year.
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