![]() For example, tabloids avidly tracked his dates so they could update the public on his love life, which posed a serious problem. Yet this didn't change the fact that he needed to marry, though the search for his bride remained difficult. Mountbatten reminded Charles that his mother's uncle David, aka Edward VIII, had needed to renounce being king in order to wed the divorced Wallis Simpson.Ĭharles liked his bachelor life, with Camilla as a close companion. ![]() Even if she were to end her marriage, the idea of the heir to the throne marrying a divorcée was then unacceptable. Getting back together with Camilla still didn't make her a potential bride for Charles. Charles' future wife needed the ability to handle intense scrutiny and pressure But she broke things off because he was paying too much attention to Camilla, whose romantic relationship with the prince had resumed around 1979. Charles also dated Anna Wallace, a Scottish heiress. For her, the royal life, with its constrained choices and constant scrutiny, held little appeal.Īnother girlfriend, Davina Sheffield, seemed to be accepted by the royal family but was eliminated from contention after a boyfriend announced that they'd lived together. The prince proposed to her in 1979, but she turned him down. Charles' mentor Mountbatten thought Amanda Knatchbull, who was Mountbatten's granddaughter and Charles' second cousin, was the ideal match. He's not ready for marriage yet."Ĭharles had said in 1975, "I personally feel that a good age for a man to get married is around 30." After he hit that milestone in 1978, pressure mounted for him to choose a bride. In an interview, she shared, "I wouldn't marry anyone I didn't love - whether it was the dustman or the King of England. But all chances of a match evaporated when she spoke to the tabloids about the prince. In 1977, Charles was linked to Lady Sarah Spencer (the older sister of Diana). However, no romance took off between the two, and they stayed friends. As the daughter of the Duke of Wellington, she more than met the aristocratic requirement. Not all of these companions were seen as potential brides, but Lady Jane Wellesley was. The prince didn't have to remain a virgin, so he was free to spend time with a variety of women. He had several failed romances, including with Diana's older sisterĬharles, who was one of the most eligible bachelors in the world in the 1970s, didn't pine away for Camilla for long. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 1979 Photo: TIM GRAHAM/Getty Images Camilla and Andrew married in July of that year. Charles was upset by the news but could not stop the wedding. Camilla, who was also in love with Parker Bowles, got engaged to him on March 15, 1973. Given Camilla's unsuitabilities, and Charles' own reluctance to get married when he was so young, there was no proposal before he sailed off with the Royal Navy in January 1973. Mountbatten had also counseled Charles, "I think it is disturbing for women to have experiences if they have to remain on a pedestal after marriage." It was expected that Charles' princess-to-be would have a "pure" reputation, and Camilla wasn't a virgin. She was from a well-off family, but she wasn't an aristocrat. However, even as they fell for each other, Camilla was never a likely candidate to become Charles' bride. They grew close in 1972, when Camilla's on-and-off boyfriend, Andrew Parker Bowles, wasn't in England due to his army service. According to some accounts, she introduced herself by saying, "My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-grandfather - so how about it?" (She was talking about Edward VII's affair with her ancestor Alice Keppel.) Whether or not this story is true, the two were soon involved. This was 23-year-old Charles' mindset when he met Camilla Shand in the summer of 1971. ![]() Instead, he followed an approach suggested by his great-uncle and trusted adviser, Lord Louis "Dickie" Mountbatten, who told him, "I believe in a case like yours that a man should sow his wild oats before settling down." Though marriage was a royal necessity, tying the knot wasn’t a priority for Prince Charles when he was in his early 20s. Charles fell for Camilla, but she did not fit the royal requirements to be his bride Unsurprisingly, the hunt for a bride proved difficult for the prince. In addition, this woman had to be willing to live within the strictures of royal life. His potential bride had to be highly born, have a virginal reputation and could not be Catholic (the latter was a legal requirement at the time). ![]() But the prince couldn’t have just anyone fill this role. Marriage was the first step in producing heirs to the throne and would provide a partner to sit by his side as queen when he became king. A young Prince Charles faced one inescapable demand of royal life: he needed a bride. ![]()
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