His Majesty’s Wedding Day in the UK Date in the current year: April 9, 2024

Charles has been married twice. His first marriage to Lady Diana Spencer lasted from 1981 to 1996. Shortly after the birth of the couple’s second son, Prince Harry, in 1984, it became obvious that their marriage wasn’t working out due to the age difference (Diana was 13 years younger than Charles) and incompatibility. By late 1986, Charles had resumed his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles (the two briefly dated in the early 1970s), and Diana had extramarital affairs of her own.

Charles and Diana became legally separated in 1992, and shortly after, his affair with Camilla became public knowledge. Camilla divorced her husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, in 1994, and Charles divorced Diana in 1996. Charles and Camilla continued their relationship following their respective divorces, despite the fact that it attracted a lot of negative publicity and damaged Charles’s image. They made their first public appearance as a couple in 1999.

Charles and Camilla’s engagement was announced on February 10, 2005, and the Queen officially consented to their marriage on March 2. It was decided to hold a civil ceremony instead of a religious one, presumably to avoid potential controversy caused by the future monarch (and, by extension, head of the Church of England) marrying a divorced woman with a living ex-husband in a religious ceremony. Charles was the first and only member of the British royal family to have a civil wedding.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for April 8, 2005. However, after the death of Pope John Paul III on April 2, it was postponed until the following day so that Charles and some other dignitaries could attend the Pope’s funeral on April 8.

The wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles took place at the Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005. Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh did not attend the civil ceremony, but other senior members of the royal family were in attendance. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, however, did attend the religious service afterwards at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and hosted a reception at Windsor Castle’s State Apartments.

After the wedding, Camilla adopted the title Duchess of Cornwall because the feminine version of her husband’s primary title, Princess of Wales, was strongly associated with Princess Diana. Following the death of Prince Philip in 2021, Charles inherited his father’s title, and Camilla became Duchess of Edinburgh.

Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms, and Camilla became queen consort. Their wedding anniversary became a designated flag flying day in 2023, replacing the wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, which used to be observed on November 20.