'There were three of us in this marriage': Camilla affair and split from Diana The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 29 July 1981 - an event watched by an estimated 750 million people around the world. The princess later said she was 'absolutely traumatised' by his answer. It was not for another three years that their romance began and quickly developed as Charles popped the question in February 1981.Īsked if they were 'in love' during a TV interview following news of their engagement, Diana replied: 'Of course,' before Charles famously responded with: 'Whatever in love means.' 'I mean, great fun, and bouncy and full of life and everything.' 'I remember thinking what a very jolly and amusing and attractive 16-year-old she was,' Charles later said of Diana.

At the time, the 29-year-old prince was reportedly dating her older sister Sarah. However, his decision to enter the Royal Navy the following year scuppered their developing relationship and she married Major Andrew Parker Bowles, a friend of Charles, in 1973.Ĭharles first met a shy, 16-year-old Lady Diana Spencer in 1977. The prince was 21 when he first met Camilla Parker Bowles (then known as Camilla Shand) at a polo match in Windsor.

His great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was said to have advised him: 'In a case like yours, the man should sow his wild oats and have as many affairs as he can before settling down.' In his youth, Charles was romantically linked to a number of women and was once dubbed 'the world's most eligible bachelor'. Image: Charles and Diana relaxing on a fence at Balmoral in 1981

Princess margaret a life of contrasts