Camilla's 'cruel' letter shattered early romance with Charles

King Charles was left heartbroken after receiving a letter from Camilla during the early stages of their romance, it has been revealed. 

Before their respective first marriages, Charles and Camilla were romantically involved, with the then-Prince reportedly deeply infatuated with her. 

However, the couple had to take a break when 24-year-old Charles embarked on a Royal Navy tour. During his time away, he received a devastating letter from Camilla, informing him that she had accepted a marriage proposal from Andrew Parker Bowles, a Guards officer and her on-again, off-again boyfriend since the late 1960s.

Royal author Penny Junor wrote about the letter in her book about Camilla, The Duchess: The Untold Story , revealing: "She wrote to Charles herself to tell him. It broke his heart."

Penny also stated that the devastated prince shared his heartbreak to his friends and family. "He fired off anguished letters to his nearest and dearest," she wrote. "It seemed to him particularly 'cruel', he wrote in one letter, that after 'such a blissful, peaceful and mutually happy relationship's fate had decreed that it should only last a mere six months."

Camilla and Andrew married on July 4, 1973, in a Roman Catholic ceremony held at the Guards' Chapel in Wellington Barracks, London. At the time, Camilla was 25 years old, while her husband was 33. 

The wedding was dubbed the "society wedding of the year," attended by 800 guests, including Princess Anne, the Queen's sister Margaret, and the Queen Mother.

The couple had two children, Tom—of whom Charles was named one of the godfathers—and Laura. In December 1994, after 21 years of marriage, they filed for divorce, citing years of living separately. The divorce was finalised on March 3, 1995. 

In February 2005, Charles and Camilla announced their engagement, and they married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005, followed by a reception hosted by the Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle.