And while the two are now happily married, the pair’s ideas about their future lives were poles apart from one another.
According to royal biographer Christopher Wilson, Camilla never had any intentions of marrying the future king.
Speaking on Channel 4’s documentary, titled The Real House of Windsor, Wilson said: “Camilla saw life as Charles’ mistress as a bit of fun, something that would never be made public and would probably continue for as long as she was active.”
“I don’t think there was any ambition on her part to advance herself to become the wife of the Prince of Wales,” he went on to say.
At the time of Charles’s marriage to Princess Diana, he parted ways with Camilla briefly but the two were back in touch not long after.
The documentary also claimed that the Queen Mother also helped her grandson with his extramarital affair.
“Once again, [Charles] turned to his grandmother to support over his marital difficulties. He also turned to the woman Diana thought was the cause of their problems ‒ Camilla Parker Bowles, whom Charles had loved since he was 24. Like the Queen Mother, she gave him unconditional love,” said the narrator.