The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall have a complicated history together, as their relationship once roused controversy in the royal household. Charles and Camilla were divorcees when they started officially dating, as the Prince of Wales split up from Princess Diana in 1996 and Camilla from her husband Andrew Parker-Bowles in 1994. But before Charles and Camilla tied the knot, Camilla’s ex-husband was seeking a potential pairing with the prince’s sister.

Before Camilla and Andrew met, he was already rubbing shoulders with the Royal Family, was hoping to marry Princess Anne.

According to ‘The Real Princess Anne’, an unearthed documentary from 2002, the Princess Royal and Mr Parker Bowles dated in the 1970s.

At the time, there was fierce media speculation as to whether Anne would marry.

Mr Parker-Bowles, her first boyfriend, was among the favourite candidates.

The documentary explained: “Most of the press pack were far more fascinated with the company she kept and whether they could marry her off.

“Would it be the Olympic gold medalist Richard Meade, who shared her passion for riding, or more intriguingly, the 26-year-old Andrew Parker-Bowles, not yet married to Camilla?”

While Princess Anne and Andrew were compatible, one insurmountable difference meant they could not marry.

The documentary added: “He and Anne were often seen together, but he was a Roman Catholic, and for a royal that effectively put marriage out of the question.”

As a roman catholic, Andrew could not marry Anne, who’s mother Queen Elizabeth II was the head of the Church of England.

The two parted ways, leaving Andrew to marry Camilla Spade, and Anne to marry Mark Phillips.

Camilla eventually married Prince Charles, after his relationship with Princess Diana and hers with Andrew ended in divorce.

According to royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith, Charles and Camilla feared the reaction from people on their first royal tour to the US due to Diana’s memory.

Writing in her book Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, she said: “The Prince and Duchess had been ‘nervous and anxious’ about the tour, according to a member of their team, fearful that Diana’s memory would have an adverse impact on the reception given to Camilla.

“’None of us knew for sure what the reaction would be,’ said the official.

“‘For both of them, Diana was a long shadow but on that trip, it didn’t ought to be long at all.

“Especially in California, it was ‘Princess Diana? Who cares?’”

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