5 Little Known Facts About Prince Charles And Camilla's Affair

By now, royal family enthusiasts know all about the extramarital affair Prince Charles had with his wife Camilla before the two of them got married. It is widely accepted as one of the main reasons why Charles and Princess Diana got divorced, and his public relationship with Camilla years after Diana’s death was not without controversy.

However, the affair started a decade before the divorce was finalized, so plenty of strange stories about it have popped up over the years. These are just a few fascinating, little known facts about Charles and Camilla’s affair.

Princess Diana found out about the affair because of a bracelet

According to an interview Diana gave in 1997, not long before her untimely death, she saw the first warning sign about Charles and Camilla before she even married the Prince of Wales. Diana, only 20 years old in the weeks leading up to the wedding, found a parcel in an office belonging to an employee of Charles.

She opened it and found a bracelet with the letters G and F on it. Those stood for Gladys and Fred, nicknames Charles and Camilla gave each other. Diana said it was a painful discovery, and Camilla actually wore the bracelet in public for a time.

Prince Harry learned about the affair from watching TV

Diana’s younger son found out about the affair the same way the rest of the world did: Through the media. A 2017 documentary called “Diana: The Woman Inside” contained an anecdote about a time when Diana was watching a TV show about the monarchy with her two sons.

According to Diana’s friend Simone Simmons, a TV presenter posed a question about whether or not Camilla was fit to be Queen, following Charles and Diana’s divorce. In response, Prince Harry asked his older brother Prince William who Camilla was. The story goes that Prince William then said “Don’t you know?”

Diana reportedly sent the children to bed before the conversation could go any further.

Princess Diana tipped a photographer about the affair

The affair between Prince Charles and Camilla did not go public until 1992, but there were those outside the family who managed to find out about it in other ways. One such person was famed paparazzo Darryn Lyons, who took photographs of the royals for money.

Lyons claimed that Diana herself gave him a tip about the affair at least six months before it was publicized. She reportedly approached the paparazzo and asked him why he was not photographing her husband.

"And I said, 'Why would I be photographing him? He's got big ears, a big nose and he's ugly and talks to trees' - even though I have a lot of respect for the Prince of Wales,” Lyons said.

The photographer would realize later that this was a subtle tip that the Prince was having an affair.

The Queen Mother privately approved of the affair

According to at least one source, the mother of the current Queen offered some support for the affair, at least in private. It was claimed in the Netflix documentary “The Royal House of Windsor” that the Queen Mother was more or less fine with the affair happening, as long as the public did not find out about it.

She even reportedly went as far as to offer the royal Birkhall estate in Scotland as a secret getaway for Charles and Camilla.

According to the documentary, the Queen Mother’s main concern was the affair going public and causing a scandal similar to Edward VIII’s abdication of the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. The Queen Mother had a unique perspective on that incident, as her husband only became King because of it.

Queen Elizabeth II did not

The Queen Mother may not have despised the affair as it happened, but Queen Elizabeth II reportedly did. According to royal biographer Christopher Wilson, the Queen had a harsh reaction to finding out Charles was spending time with Camilla.

Queen Elizabeth II apparently did not think Camilla was a worthy marriage partner for Charles, and did not want her to appear at royal functions. She even apparently said she did not want Camilla “in [her] presence,” according to Wilson.

Prince Philip reportedly took a similar stance to the Queen Mother, wanting the affair to be kept private above all else.