Camilla Parker-Bowles is second wife of Britain's Prince Charles. The two met in the early 1970s, becoming friends and then romantic partners. Both later were married to others (Camilla to Army captain Andrew Parker-Bowles in 1973, and Charles to Diana Spencer in 1981), but their friendship endured. Parker-Bowles and her husband divorced in 1995 and Charles and Diana divorced in 1996; Charles later admitted that he and Parker-Bowles had been romantically involved even when both still were married. After Diana's death in 1997, Parker-Bowles became recognized as Charles's steady companion and partner, amid much public chatter about the propriety of their relationship and her eventual role should Charles become king. The two were married in a civil ceremony on 9 April 2005, and their union was blessed the same day in a ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Parker Bowles is known by the title Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall. (One of Charles's many titles is the Duke of Cornwall). She will not be called Queen Camilla if and when Charles becomes king. Their original wedding date of April 8th was changed to April 9th after the funeral of Pope John Paul II was scheduled for the 8th... Parker-Bowles has two children with her former husband, Tom (b. 1975) and Laura (b. 1979). Charles's great-uncle King Edward VIII and aunt Princess Margaret also had trouble with royal romances in the face of the Church of England's traditional rules against marriage after divorce. Camilla is the great-granddaughter of Alice Keppel, one of King Edward VII's paramours.

Initially, the Duchess of Cornwall's royal duties involved accompanying the Prince of Wales on his official obligations. Camilla's first solo engagement was a visit to a hospital in Southampton; she attended the Trooping the Colour for the first time in June 2005, making her appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards