Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles broke royal norms by having a modest civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall on 9th April, 2005. Against a turbulent backdrop of past scandals and public opinion, the couple's union marked a delicate dance toward Britain’s eventual acceptance of them as King and Queen.

Queen Elizabeth did not attend the ceremony, for fear of compromising her position as head of the Church of England, but did turn up with Rowan Atkinson and Phil Collins to the after-party, where she made a notoriously cheeky speech, as guests munched on egg-and-cress sandwiches.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the couple married in the Guildhall, rather than Windsor Castle; consider how ‘the Firm’ iterated Camilla’s public image in the decades following Princess Diana’s untimely death; and trace the couple’s romance back to their first meeting in the Summer of 1970…

Further Reading:

• ‘Charles and Camilla wed’ (The Guardian, 2005): https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/apr/09/monarchy.markoliver

• ‘Inside King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' Wedding’ (Harpers Bazaar Australia, 2005): https://harpersbazaar.com.au/charles-camilla-wedding/

• ‘The Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles’ (ITN, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgeXK5cKatA

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

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