Royal journalist Tom Bower, in his book on the life of King Charles III, Rebel King: The Making of a Monarch, recounts a fateful royal meeting that took place at a birthday party in 1989. Princess Diana, then married to Charles, made a surprise appearance at a party hosted by VIP Annabel Goldsmith at her home in south-west London, which also included Camilla and her then husband, Andrew Parker Bowles.
Diana made a surprise appearance at a birthday party at Annabel’s home in Ham, near Richmond, Bower writes. Charles walked in with Diana, while the Parker Bowles were already there. When the room suddenly fell silent, Diana challenged Camilla to leave Charles alone. Camilla responded by telling the princess that her behaviour was “unacceptable in a private home”. The princess, she said, was in no position to complain.
Camilla’s close friends accused Diana of causing a public scene. Others accused Camilla of being bitchy. Experts say that back then, in 1989, Charles and Camilla began spending more and more time together. They holidayed together in Turkey with Camilla’s husband, and the future Queen Consort was even pictured wearing a bracelet with the initials “G” and “F” – a reference to the pet names Charles and Camilla gave each other: Gladys and Fred.
Diana and Charles separated in 1992, the same year that the princess’s biography, Diana: Her True Story, was published. It first mentioned Charles and Camilla’s affair, which became public knowledge a year later. On August 28, 1996, Diana and Charles officially divorced after 15 years of marriage.
