Camila and Charles: A Love Story

Author: (British) Caroline Graham
Translator: Xiao Zhou Xiong Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Charles and Camilla's intense love has spanned decades. This legendary tale of passion, hurt, and betrayal nearly reaches the height of Shakespearean drama. Their eventual union thrusts this couple into the spotlight. This book is not only their definitive biography but also the most sensational version of all biographies about them. The author is one of Britain's most successful best-selling authors and a seasoned journalist, offering an intimate perspective to reveal all hidden truths—from their initial meeting to their clandestine affair, from bearing the scorn to finally coming together. Reading this book will be a complex and eye-opening experience. The ending is known to the world, but what about the beginning and the process? Your heaven could be someone else's hell. After the rose of England withered, a legendary tale of passion, hurt, and betrayal continues; a couple who has weathered storms and carried the weight of public opinion finally comes together. Caroline Graham, a British best-selling author and one of the most seasoned royal commentators. She was once the youngest female editor at The Sun. Thanks to her extraordinary close connection with the royal family, she became Britain's most sharp and insightful royal reporter. Currently, she is a U.S. correspondent for The Sunday Times. This book reveals for the first time the decades-long secret love affair between Charles and Camilla. Reading this book, along with the author, to critique this cross-century, most resilient, and controversial love story will be a complex experience.
Charles the Prince knelt on one knee. In his pocket lay a small silk-lined box containing an extremely valuable platinum diamond ring, with a diamond of ten carats. The ring was once owned by his beloved grandmother, and now he would use it to propose to his beloved. He later told his friends that he was full of anticipation and excitement, with no hesitation, because he was proposing to the only woman he had ever truly loved. He compared her to "my rock, my life"—she was Camilla Parker Bowles. Twenty-four years ago, Charles once proposed to a young woman who was completely different from Camilla. That woman was the shy Miss Diana Spencer. His life has been filled with fear and pain ever since. His reason told him that for the sake of the monarchy and the country, he should do so, but his heart kept whispering, "Don't do it." Although their engagement was celebrated across the nation, Charles himself felt heavy-hearted. The young Miss Diana Spencer seemed to be a perfect match for him, yet he still felt troubled, filled with doubts about whether he could deeply love this young lady as he had loved his first love. Time and history will bear witness to everything. Charles and Diana's "fairytale" marriage broke apart amidst public condemnation. Charles and Camilla were both vilified as the ones who shattered the fairytale. Diana perished in a Paris tunnel, along with her reckless boyfriend beside her, taking her sorrow and loneliness with her, leaving behind a deep sense of regret that her husband had never truly loved her. The love triangle involving Charles, Camilla, and Diana played out on the world stage for over two decades. Their story, like Shakespeare's plays, was full of ups and downs, tinged with a touch of helplessness. But behind the torrent of news, few knew the truth of the story.
On a day in January 2005, the sky was gray, the wind was fierce, and Charles proposed in Scotland's Burghley Estate. For the first time, he knew with certainty that this time, he had done the right thing. He deeply gazed at the woman he loved, a woman he had only been able to watch secretly for so long, but now he knew that their love—one of history's greatest love stories—was about to write its final chapter. He gently asked his beloved, "Will you marry me?" He had no doubt about the answer he would receive. And indeed, she replied, "Of course, darling." Then, he gently placed the ring on her finger. It was a moment he had longed for for so many years. He could finally live with the woman he truly loved.
For Camilla, the Prince's proposal meant she could finally end her life living in the shadows. Since the moment they first met in 1970, she knew she and Charles were destined to be together forever. What she hadn't expected was that their love would have such a profound impact on history, and that she would almost always be known as "the King's mistress." For both of them, this engagement marked the end of their long and painful story, as well as a brand new beginning—their "official" life as husband and wife.
On February 10, 2005, when they announced the astonishing news of their engagement, the name of this once-derided woman received genuine support from the majority of the public. The reason was that, though she had always been called a "Rotherwell dog" and "the third party in a marriage" by Diana, Camilla had always held onto her dream: to marry the man she loved, who happened to be the future King of England. For a woman of Camilla Parker Bowles' humble background, this was truly an extraordinary day. She later called the proposal "the happiest moment of my life."
Although newspapers were filled with stories about their love, little was known about the woman herself, the one who, through love, brought the dynasty to the brink of collapse and made Buckingham Palace submit. Camilla rarely spoke about herself or her thirty-year love affair with Charles.