King Charles II and Queen Camilla’s life changed drastically following Queen Elizabeth II’s passing in September last year. But while their royal duties have changed quite a bit after becoming king and queen – as they have to take on more senior engagements – the couple are still human beings just like the rest of us. That means they have their routines, everything from breakfasts to dinners, and still have to make sure to create time for each other.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have indeed stood the test of time. So, what is the real secret to their union? According to a royal source, the answer might be found in the bedroom.
King Charles and Camilla’s love story is something else. Some argue that it’s one of the most beautiful, while others claim the scandals have put a stain on it that will never disappear. They first met at a polo match in 1972, as they were introduced by their mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of the Chilean ambassador.
The couple dated for a while but stopped when Charles left to serve in the Royal Navy. By the time he returned, Camilla was involved and engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles.
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s love story
Andrew and Camilla married in 1973, but Camilla maintained a close and friendly relationship with Charles. The now-king started dating 19-year-old Diana Spencer in 1980.
When Diana was introduced to the Bowles couple, Camilla thought the young lady was “sweet and cute” and approved of her. At first, Diana and Camilla got along well. But things soon grew uncomfortable.
According to Charles’ authorized biography, Charles and Camilla’s affair started in 1986. Charles was still married to Princess Diana at that point. She found out about it – and confronted Camilla.
Things for Charles and Diana continued as usual, at least from the public’s perspective. But it wasn’t long before the couple’s fairytale life was over.
In 1992, the couple announced their separation, though both continued with their official royal duties. Four years later, in August of 1996, they reached a final agreement for the divorce. In newly discovered letters, Diana revealed new details about the dirty divorce.
By that stage, things had already reached the ears of the public regarding Charles’ relationship with Camilla. And what happened in December 1989 confirmed that they had been having an affair for years.
Just months after Charles and Diana formally separated, the press published a full transcript of a telephone call between the then-future King and Camilla, known as the Tampongate scandal.
The phone call revealed an intimate and sexual exchange between the couple. But, according to The Diana Chronicles, the person who recorded it had kept it to himself for years.
Charles and Camilla tied the knot in 2005 at Windsor Castle. While the now-queen had a tough time being accepted by the public – and Queen Elizabeth – as the years went by, she became increasingly popular. Today, there is no doubt that royal fans adore her.
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s passion for gardening
The king and queen have had a very special year, just like the rest of the royal family. From the sad days of the queen’s death to the coronation and the feud with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Charles and Camilla are moving on with their royal duties in the best way possible.
Their love for each other is still massive, and it has only grown stronger over the years. When out on royal engagements, the two are often seen smiling and joking with each other.
And from the start, it seemed like the two were a perfect fit. The two have always had much in common, such as their passion for riding horses, fishing, and gardening.
“They both love being outdoors, and always have,” royal expert Angela Levin said. “It was one of the first things that drew them together.”
As reported by OK! Magazine, Charles’ favorite flowers are delphiniums. Camilla especially likes Lady’s mantle, lily of the valley, English lavender, and primroses. It’s safe to say gardening is a huge passion of both Charles and Camilla.
“I’d be out in my garden all day, every day if I were allowed. I love to get my hands dirty,” Queen Camilla once said.
Speaking on BBC’s Gardeners’ World in 2021, Camilla revealed how mice had loved eating her strawberries and asparagus at Highgrove. Moreover, she also said that being outside has many benefits and was of great help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think gardens got people through Covid. You can go into a garden and you can completely lose yourself, you don’t have to think about anything else, you’re surrounded by nature, you’ve got birds singing, you’ve got bees buzzing about – there is something very healing about gardens,” she said.
King Charles added, “The garden at Highgrove really does spring from my heart and, strange as it may seem to some, creating it has been rather like a form of worship.”
How Charles and Camilla make time for each other despite hectic schedules
Charles and Camilla’s schedules are packed with meetings, premieres, visits to hospitals and companies, and other duties. They aren’t doing all these things together, which may suit their marriage.
But while it could be healthy to have time for yourself, too much time without the love of one’s life isn’t good either.
King Charles and Queen Camilla try their best to find time for each other, even though it is sometimes hard. While they might not see each other during the day, according to Julian Payne — who worked as the Director of Communications for Charles and Camilla from 2016 to 2021 – there is one thing they will never miss out on.
Speaking to the Express, Payne explained how Charles begins his day with a big breakfast of fruit salad and seeds with tea. With a “relentless schedule” each day, King Charles takes a break at 1 pm. However, he doesn’t ever eat lunch.
“He gets outside for a walk as he does not like being inside for too long. And “[he] always has the windows open,” Payne explained.
No matter what happens, at 5 pm, King Charles and Queen Camilla always have time for themselves. According to Payne, the couple have tea together, eating a sandwich or fruit cake.
In an interview with Vogue, Queen Camilla explained how she and her husband try to find time together during their hectic days.
“It’s not easy sometimes, but we do always try to have a point in the day when we meet. Sometimes it’s like ships passing in the night, but we always sit down together and have a cup of tea and discuss the day. We have a moment,” she said.
Camilla added, “It’s lovely to catch up when we have a bit of time. You know, when we go away, the nicest thing is that we actually sit and read our books in different corners of the same room. It’s very relaxing because you know you don’t have to make conversation. You just sit and be together.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s unusual bedroom routine
After dinner, most of us enjoy a lovely, calm evening, maybe in front of the television and our favorite program or reading a book.
For King Charles, the day is far from over. Sometimes, he has public engagements in the evening, or he’s at his desk working for many more hours.
While the king and queen might not have that much time together, there seems to be one “secret” that is the key to their long and successful marriage. And it’s all about their bedroom arrangements.
As reported by the Daily Mail, King Charles and Queen Camilla do not sleep together in the same bed. Actually, not even in the same room.
According to a Daily Mail source, three bedrooms exist at their London residence of Clarance House.
“[His Royal Highness] has a room with a double bed, decorated to his own taste, then Camilla has her own room with a double bed, decorated just the way she likes it,” the insider said. “In addition, they have a shared bedroom with a double bed that they can use whenever they like. The arrangement suits them perfectly.”
Since their 2005 wedding, King Charles and Queen Camilla have lived at Clarence House. Buckingham Palace is now theirs to move into. However, it’s unclear if they will ever walk in Queen Elizabeth’s footsteps of moving there.
Clarence House is open to visitors for one month each summer. However, the “secret” sleeping arrangement has been kept far away from tourists, as their bedrooms are a no-go zone for them.
So why are King Charles and Queen Camilla even sleeping in different rooms? According to the Mirror, it might be the king’s health. For years, the monarch has had problems with his back. By sleeping alone, it makes it easier for him to cope.
Prefer to relax alone
Another theory is, as presented by royal expert Joshua Rom, that since the king and queen have very hectic schedules, they prefer to relax by themselves.
Separate bedrooms may also have to do with the king and queen having such hectic schedules and being around so many people all the time that they prefer to relax separately.
While it might seem very strange that King Charles and Queen Camilla are sleeping in separate beds – and even rooms – it’s not as uncommon as you might think within the royal family
“In England, the upper class always have had separate bedrooms. You don’t want to be bothered with snoring or someone flinging a leg around,” Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin Lady Pamela Hicks once said
Moreover, Prince William and Princess Kate reportedly didn’t sleep in the same bed at Kensington Palace; the same went for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. While they slept in two different quarters of Buckingham Palace – and were married for 73 years – it turns out that it might be perfect for the royal marriages to last. Hopefully, that goes for King Charles and Camilla, too.
While there are several bedrooms at Clarence House, when traveling, it turns out King Charles really likes bringing some stuff from home. Actually, it’s more than just a toothbrush.
Author and royal expert Tina Brown spoke to more than 120 insiders and sources in her book The Palace Papers. They detailed how King Charles allegedly sends a large van of his possessions to friends’ country houses the day before his arrival, where they unload his “bed, furniture and even pictures.”
It included his orthopedic bed, Kleenex Velvet lavatory paper – and even a toilet seat.
“His pajamas are pressed every morning”
The same claim was also brought up in Tom Bower’s 2018 book Prince Charles, Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion, and Defiance of Prince Charles. He stated that King Charles and Camilla’s bedrooms had been brought with them when visiting a friend in the north, complete with his bed, linens, toilet seat, liquor, bottled water, and art.
At his Clarence House residence, the former Prince of Wales was named “Pampered Prince” among his staff. In the documentary Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm, Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, claimed that Charles had “everything done for him…”
“His pajamas are pressed every morning, his shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron, the bath plug has to be in a certain position, and the water temperature has to be just tepid,” Burrell said, adding that the now-king even “has his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning.”
Paul Burrell began working for Charles and Diana at Highgrove House in 1987 and stayed with the princess until her passing in 1997. He once claimed Diana told him he was the “only man” she trusted. In Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm, he added that King Charles is precise about his bathing temperatures and requests that the bathtub is “only half full.”
