Inside Queen Camilla’s tumultuous love life before settling with King Charles

The British royal family has historically been famed for their torrid affairs and tumultuous love lives; from King Henry VIII’s six marriages to King Edward’s Hollywood romance with Wallis Simpson, they are no strangers to making sensational headlines.

And so it happens, Queen Camilla fit right in with the royals when she found her one true love with King Charles in a long and scandalous affair that ended with the epic breakdown of Charles’ marriage with Princess Diana, and his subsequent marriage with Camilla in 2005.

But was Camilla always in love with the heir to the throne? History would beg to differ, and below is the rundown of her love life:

Camilla’s first royal connection: Andrew Parker Bowles

The current Queen Consort was famously married to Andrew Parker-Bowles, with whom she shares two children, from 1973 to 1995.

Parker-Bowles was also her first proper link to wining and dining with the royals; the retired British Army officer had ties to the royal family, and had even served as a page at Queen Elizabeth II’s historic 1953 coronation.

After being introduced to each other in the 1960s, Camilla and Parker-Bowles embarked on a wild on-again, off-again romance that culminated in them finally tying the knot in 1973, with many members of the royal family in attendance, including Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and even the Queen Mother.

The couple went on to welcome two children, son Tom in 1974, and daughter Laura in 1978.

However, it has long been rumoured that their marriage was on the rocks for a long time before their official split in 1995; it has been documented that Camilla’s torrid behind-the-scenes affair with then-Prince Charles was the catalyst.

Queen Camilla’s first true love?

However, long before her royal romances, Queen Camilla, then Camilla Shand, ran in London’s high society as a young teenager vying for suitors.

And it was not long before she found her apparent first love at 17, an elusive Kevin Burke, said to be a ‘well-connected’ man in English aristocratic circles, as per Royal Insider.

According to reports, Camilla and Kevin met at a debutante ball in 1965, after which their romance took flight and remained high for about a year.

Writing in his biography about his short-lived affair with the future Queen of England, Kevin wrote, “It was the best fun, and I had the best and most fun partner you could possibly wish for.”

“Camilla was immensely popular and although she wasn’t a beauty, she was attractive and sexy,” he added.

However, the couple was not meant to be, and soon went their separate ways; Camilla settled with Parker-Bowles, while Kevin went on to marry twice. He passed away in 2023.