1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,080 Speaker 1: Wish you were here. A whole lot about the British 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: royal family, their romances and marriages, but we don't hear 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: so much about King Charles and Queen Camilla back in 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: the old days fifty some years ago, when they were 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,320 Speaker 1: kids with a wicked crush. But their relationship was the 6 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: last royal love affair in British history to get the 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: thumbs down because the lady wasn't a virgin. I'm Patty Steele. 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: Imagine having to prove to the nation you'd never had 9 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: a lover if you wanted to get married. That's next 10 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. A lot 11 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: of us get really caught up in royal love stories. 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: Seven hundred and fifty million people around the world got 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: up in the US before dawn to watch Prince Charles 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: marry Lady Diana Spencer in nineteen eighty one, and depending 15 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: on who you believe, the weddings of Prince William and 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: Kate Middleton may have had close to two billion viewers, 17 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: while Prince Harry and Megan Markle intrigued somewhere close to 18 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: one point seven billion of us. But if you were 19 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: the couple getting married, there were some restrictions in the 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: past that don't exist today. It wasn't a rule on 21 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: the books, but it was highly expected that the bride 22 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: to be would be a virgin. In fact, before Diana 23 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: married Prince Charles in nineteen eighty one, her family was 24 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: asked to confirm her virginity. Really they asked your dad 25 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: about that. The palace thinking was that a royal bride 26 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: should appear pure. The fear was that any past relationships 27 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: could come back to taint the princess or queen's reputation. 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: They wanted to avoid tabloid's stories by ex boyfriends about 29 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: how I shagged the Princess of Wales. Of course, the 30 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: Charles Diana scandal changed that unwritten rule forever. Back to 31 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: Charles and Camilla now. They first met at a polo 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: match in nineteen seventy. He was smitten with her from 33 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: the moment they met. Her first words to him as 34 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: she introduced herself to the future king were my great 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: grandmother was the mistress of your great great grandfather. I 36 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,519 Speaker 1: feel we have something in common. Ooh, sizzl sizzle. Insiders 37 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: say he went after Camilla passionately, with elaborate love notes 38 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: and late night phone chats. He loved the fact that 39 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: she enjoyed country life as much as he did horses, 40 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: hunting and gardening. They were a good match. Their early 41 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: love affair lasted a couple of years, but she had 42 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: a history. She had dated other men and was definitely 43 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: not a virgin. Older royals saw that as discreditable and 44 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: therefore she was not suitable. Wow. That nice. Then, in 45 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two, Charles left England to serve in the 46 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: Royal Navy. Camilla saw the writing on the wall and 47 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: she didn't wait for him. She'd been dating Andrew Parker 48 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: Bulls on and off since she was seventeen years old, 49 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: so it was a safe choice. One royal historian says 50 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: the number one rule before the looks or the breeding 51 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: of a potential royal spouse was that she'd be a 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: virgin first and foremost. It was a condition of marriage. 53 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: A marriage between Charles and Camilla wouldn't have been possible 54 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: in the seventies because she had a history and you 55 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,799 Speaker 1: didn't want a pass that hung about. Charles, knowing he'd 56 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: be gone for at least eight months, thought she'd wait 57 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: for him. A few months in he found out Camilla 58 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: and Andrew Parker Bowles were engaged. His heart was absolutely broken, 59 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: but he was the future king and he had to 60 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,079 Speaker 1: find a wife. He actually dated a number of women 61 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: over the years, including Princess Diana's sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. 62 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: She was a little older than Diana. That didn't work out. 63 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: That went south in nineteen seventy eight, when the pair 64 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: took a ski trip to Switzerland and Sarah had lunch 65 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: with two British journalists. She told him she didn't love 66 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: the Prince and wouldn't marry anyone she didn't love, whether 67 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: he were a dustman or the King of England. Charles 68 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: had met Diana the year before and just remembered her 69 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: as an amusing and attractive sixteen year old. At seventeen, 70 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: Charles invited her to his thirtieth birthday party, and that's 71 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: where things started to take off. She was tall, pretty 72 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: and aristocratic, but she was also sweet and shy and 73 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: very virginal, perfect in the eyes of the old royals. 74 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: Everybody pushed him to marry her, but once he and 75 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: Camilla reconciled, he was having another affair with her. Friends 76 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: said Camilla was the only person he could talk to 77 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: about anything. She was his best friend, his soulmate, and 78 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: after the murder of his much loved great uncle by 79 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: Ira terrorists, she became his lover again. But again he 80 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: needed a wife, not just a lover, and even Camilla 81 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: pushed him to marry Diana. He was attracted to Diana's 82 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: innocence and sweetness and told himself that was enough. Once 83 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: he proposed. The affair with Camilla ended, at least for 84 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,919 Speaker 1: a little while. After Charles and Diana's insane wedding, things 85 00:04:56,960 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: started to go downhill really fast, like even during the honeymoon. 86 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: Problem is, Diana found love letters between Charles and Camilla, 87 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: as well as cuff links with two intertwined seas that 88 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: Camilla had had made for him. Charles told Diana they 89 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: were a gift from a friend, but she wasn't convinced. 90 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 1: She later said she was overwhelmed with jealousy. By nineteen 91 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: eighty six, they'd had two baby boys, but Charles and 92 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: Diana's marriage was basically over and he was back with Camilla. 93 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: Diana later told a biographer that she got in Camilla's 94 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: face about it. She said, I know what's going on 95 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: between you and Charles, and she said to me, You've 96 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: got everything you ever wanted. You've got all the men 97 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: in the world falling in love with you, and you've 98 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: got two beautiful children. What more do you want? She said? 99 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: I told her, I want my husband. The marriage hung on, 100 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: sort of. They finally separated in late nineteen ninety two, 101 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: and then Camilla Gate happened. In January of ninety three. 102 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: Phone chats between Charles and Camilla that had been taped 103 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,480 Speaker 1: a few years earlier while the pair were still together, 104 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 1: were leaked to the press, including the moment when Charles 105 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: told Camilla he wished he could be her tampon to 106 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: live inside her. He said. The trouble is I need 107 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: you several times a week. Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles 108 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: got a divorce in nineteen ninety five. Charles and Diana 109 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: did the same a year later, and then Diana died 110 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: in a car wreck the following year in Paris. One 111 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: royal expert said all that misery could have been prevented 112 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: if Charles had been a little bit more like his mother. 113 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: The queen married the man she loved, despite some pushback. 114 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,799 Speaker 1: If Charles would have married Camilla from the start, everyone 115 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: would have been much happier in the long run. Problem is, 116 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,040 Speaker 1: Prince Philip didn't have to prove he was a virgin. 117 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:51,920 Speaker 1: Charles and Camilla went public with their relationship in nineteen 118 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: ninety nine and finally got married in two thousand and five. 119 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: So as heartbroken as we all were for the way 120 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: the story played out for Diana, U, you do have 121 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: to understand a little bit what Charles went through. On 122 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: the upside, it changed the marriage rules for a future 123 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: king forever. Hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele. 124 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: Follow or subscribe for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, 125 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: and feel free to dm me if you have a 126 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty 127 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 128 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis 129 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. 130 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday 131 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with 132 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty 133 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening 134 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history 135 00:07:58,080 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.