When Prince Charles married his second wife Camilla, all eyes were on the royal couple. However, one very important person was missing at the nuptials – his mother, the Queen.
MORE: Best photos from Prince Charles and Camilla’s royal wedding
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, Berkshire followed by an official religious blessing at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on 9 April 2005.
WATCH: Most stunning royal wedding dresses of all time
Camilla – an ex-girlfriend who had met the royal in 1970 and dated him before going on to marry Andrew Parker Bowles three years later – had been making appearances alongside the Prince for some time after they finally went public with their rekindled romance.
READ: Real reason Duchess Camilla was only royal bride without tiara for Prince Charles wedding
GALLERY: The most beautiful royal weddings of all time
The Queen and Prince Philip did not attend the civil wedding ceremony, but did join the service of blessing. The reason? According to the Telegraph, the Queen bowed out because of her role as head of the Church of England, which discourages divorce. This prominent role meant she would have had to uphold the Church’s values.
It’s believed her duties outweighed familial obligations when making this decision. Prince Charles and Camilla had a civil ceremony rather than a wedding in the Church of England as they were both divorcees.
However, the Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh hosted a reception for the newlyweds at Windsor Castle later that day, showing that they very much approved of the union.
The Queen seen on Prince Charles and Camilla’s wedding day
Although it is customary for guests to avoid any white clothing, to prevent upstaging the bride, Her Majesty was pictured on the day in a creamy white coat and hat with a subtle yellow fleck. It could have been because Camilla had changed into a coloured wedding dress for the occasion, so it didn’t clash with her look.
MORE: A look back at all the iconic royal wedding kisses through the years
GALLERY: Royal weddings held in Windsor
It was a departure from the usual bold colours the monarch has worn to other nuptials, including her summery lemon outfit for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding and her radiant lime green look for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s big day.
The day marked the second weddings for Prince Charles and Camilla – between 1973 and 1995, the Duchess was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she shares children Laura and Tom, while Charles was married to his late wife Princess Diana from 1981 and 1996, during which time they welcomed Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Queen shares a close bond with Camilla
Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Monarch publicly backed the Duchess of Cornwall to become Queen consort when Prince Charles accedes to the throne.
In a poignant message to mark the 70th anniversary of her own accession, Her Majesty renewed her 1947 pledge “that my life will always be devoted to your service,” but urged the public to support her son and heir and his wife when her remarkable reign finally comes to an end.
The monarch, 95, said: “I remain eternally grateful for, and humbled by, the loyalty and affection that you continue to give me. And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
Until now, the Duchess of Cornwall was expected to be styled Princess Consort when her husband becomes King, a decision announced when the couple married in 2005.
Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity and royal news delivered directly to your inbox.
More on:
By registering to HELLO!’s newsletter, you acknowledge that you have read and accepted hellomagazine.com’s privacy policy, the cookies policy, and the website terms of use, and that you consent to hellomagazine.com using your data according to the established laws. If you wish to change your mind and would like to stop receiving communications from hellomagazine.com, you can revoke your consent by clicking on “unsubscribe” in the footer of the newsletter.