Timeline: Long road to the altar
LONDON, England -- News that the Prince of Wales and his long-time love interest Camilla Parker Bowles are to wed on April 8 this year comes after a 35-year history.
Following is a timeline of their relationship:
1970: Charles and Camilla Shand, both 23, meet for the first time at a Windsor polo match.
1971: The two become close but the relationship cools when Charles joins the Royal Navy.
July 1973: Camilla marries her long-standing admirer, army officer Andrew Parker Bowles.
November 1977: Charles meets 16-year-old Lady Diana Spencer at Althorp.
Late 1970s: Charles and Camilla keep up contact and became close again towards the end of the decade.
February 6, 1981: Charles proposes to Diana.
July 29, 1981: Lady Diana Spencer marries Prince Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. After his marriage Charles remains close to Camilla.
June 21, 1982: Birth of Prince William to Charles and Diana.
September 15, 1984: Birth of Prince Harry to Charles and Diana.
1985: First reports of difficulties in the royal marriage.
1992: The depth of the intimacy Charles and Camilla share becomes clear when the so-called "Camillagate" tape surfaces.
June 1992: Andrew Morton's book "Diana: Her True Story" is published, alleging she is deeply unhappy and has attempted suicide.
December 9, 1992: Prime Minister John Major announces Charles and Diana are separating "amicably."
June 29, 1994: Charles, in a television interview, says he was unfaithful to Diana after their marriage broke down. Interviewer Jonathan Dimbleby later identifies the other woman as Camilla.
November 1994: Authorized biography of Charles confirms his affair with Camilla. Diana gives television interview in which she says "there were three of us in this marriage."
January 1995: Camilla and her husband Andrew divorce.
December 1995: The queen urges Charles and Diana to divorce.
August 28, 1996: Final divorce decree is granted.
April 1997: Camilla takes a step into public life when she becomes patron of the National Osteoporosis Society.
July 1997: Charles hosts a party for Camilla to celebrate her 50th birthday.
August 31, 1997: Diana and Dodi Fayed die in a car crash in Paris.
October 1998: Charles and Camilla make a rare public appearance at a society wedding in London but arrive apart and avoid being photographed together.
January 1999: Charles and Camilla make their first public appearance together at a 50th birthday party at the Ritz Hotel in central London.
1999: Camilla meets Prince William and Prince Harry for the first time.
June 3, 2000: Queen recognizes the relationship by attending birthday lunch for King Constantine with Camilla present.
June 21, 2000: Charles kisses Camilla in public for the first time.
July 2, 2002: Camilla's first royal engagement in Edinburgh.
June 2004: Camilla appears for the first time in the prince's official accounts.
February 10, 2005: Clarence House announce the Prince of Wales and Camilla are to marry. The wedding will be held on April 8, 2005 at Windsor Castle.
