It was a couple of decades ago that Camilla Parker Bowles was one of the most hated women in the U.K who made a name for herself as the other woman in Princess Diana and Prince Charles' marriage. At one point, the late princess even publicly hinted at Camilla's affair with Prince Charles, saying: 'There were three of us in this marriage'. Camilla's public image became even more tarnished following the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Fast forward to the present, however, Camilla has turned the table as she is now the royal wife who will one day be crowned Queen Consort as her husband, Prince Charles, ascends to the throne. As one of the most popular Royal Family members, Camilla's life is always a magnet for the public. As Her Royal Highness is set to celebrate her 75th birthday on July 17 in style, let's take a look at her life and also her relationship timeline with Prince Charles.

Camilla Parker Bowles was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17, 1947, in London. Her family had royal roots, with Camilla's great-grandmother Alice Keppel being the mistress of King Edward VII and her father being Vice Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex. She grew up in a large country estate with her two siblings in Plumpton. Boasting such a privileged background, Camilla was brought up in luxury and soon acquainted with the world of aristocracy and Britain’s upper classes.

Camilla's laid-back childhood was surrounded by her parents, and her brother and sister, Annabel and Mark. The unit of three was very close and would often spend time together riding to school on ponies or playing in the family's massive garden. Camilla's mother is Rosalind Shand, who hailed from a wealthy aristocratic family. In an interview with Nowtolove, Camilla credited her mother as teaching her 'the art of small talk', which prepared her for royal life. Her mother passed away in 1994 at the age of 72 after a long battle with osteoporosis.

At a very young age, Camilla Shand attended the famous elite Queens Gate School in South Kensington, where she socialized with members of Britain's royal circles and children of the wealthiest aristocrats in British society. After a few years in Queens Gate, she left for France and Switzerland to finish her education.

According to Brides, Charles and Camilla met for the first time IN 1970 at a polo match at Windsor Great Park. The pair got on well, sharing the same sense of humor and interest in polo. Some reports claim Camilla's first words to the Prince were: 'My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather. I feel we have something in common.' The pair dated since but had to part ways after Charles had to leave for the Royal Navy.

With Charles not by her side anymore, Camilla got married to Army Cavalry officer Andrew Parker-Bowles in July 1973. Andrew, who was 7 years junior to Camilla, had previously dated Charles' sister, Princess Anne. After marriage, Camilla and Andrew shared two children, Tom and Laura Parker Bowles. She still remained close to Charles during her marriage, with the Prince even becoming Tom's godfather following his return from the Royal Navy.

As they remained close friends after Charles finished his time in the navy, Camilla and the Prince regularly made public appearances together. In this photo taken in 1980, Prince Charles and Camilla were seen walking together with their friend Lady Sara Keswick in the park. That same year, Camilla introduced Lady Diana Spencer, 18 to Charles, then 31. In fact, the Prince had previously dated Diana's older sister, Lady Sarah Spencer.

Charles proposed to Diana on February 6, 1981, before tying the knot on July 29. Their marriage was one of the most eagerly-awaited events that year with an estimated 750 million people watching around the world. However, things seemed awkward in the first place as Charles got asked by a television interviewer whether he and Diana were in love. While Diana quickly replied: 'Of course' Charles said: 'Whatever love means.'

Following their marriage, Prince Charles and Princess Diana gave birth to their two sons, William and Harry, in 1982 and 1984 respectively. Despite both of them having a family with kids, Prince Charles and Camilla still remained intimate and began having an affair in 1986. The Prince even reportedly told his wife: 'A certain amount of time would always be put aside for Camilla.'

With Prince Charles growing closer and closer to Camilla, Princess Diana began to take her own action. According to Brides, the mother of Prince William confronted Camilla about her affair at a party in 1986 and said: 'I know what’s going on between you and Charles and I just want you to know that. I do know what’s going on. Don’t treat me like an idiot.'

That same year, Diana began to see other men and later admitted to having an affair with James Hewitt.

In June 1992, Andrew Morton’s book Diana: Her True Story was released, revealing shocking truths about Prince Charles' involvement with Camilla. When Prime Minister John Major announced later in that year that Charles and Diana and officially parted ways, Camilla's name began to make headlines. A few months later in January 1993, a transcript of a secretly-recorded phone conversation between her and Charles came to light, causing a seemingly indelible tarnish to the royal family. In the conversation, Camilla and Charles spoke about their physical relationship and how much they wanted and cared about each other, thereby confirming their extramarital affair.

In January 1995, Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles divorced in January 1995 after reportedly living apart for at least two years. Andrew quickly moved on and married his own actress, however. Less than two years later, Diana and Charles finalized their divorce. In a subsequent interview with BBC, Diana revealed that Camilla was the reason why she and Charles split, saying: 'Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.'

Camilla became the most hated woman in Britain following Princess Diana's tragic death in a car accident in 1997. As the world mourned over the death of the People's Princess, Camilla's public image as the other woman went from bad to worse. In the same year, Charles also had to pause his campaign to publicize his romance with Camilla due to the overwhelming outpouring of grief for Diana and the subsequent rage towards Camilla.

Two years after the death of Princess Diana, Prine Charles and Camilla were still struggling to legitimize their relationship and gain acceptance from both the royal family and the entire British public. In 1999, Charles threw a 50th birthday party for Camilla's sister at the Ritz Hotel, where he and Camilla were photographed together for the first time as they left the party together in full view of reporters and photographers. Later that year, the pair embarked on their first abroad trip to Greece with Prince William and Prince Harry.

After moving in together at Clarence House in 2003, Charles and Camilla began to make more public appearances. On April 8, 2005, the pair got married in a civil ceremony with Prince William as the best man. While the Queen and Prince Phillip didn't attend the big day, they did go to the reception afterward. At the time of their marriage, the public was speculative about the title Camilla would take as Charles' wife. Despite being fully entitled to the title of Princess Diana, Camilla chose the title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall out of respect for the late Princess. They would make their first royal trip together one year later and gradually gained public acceptance.

In April 2011, Camilla attended the much-anticipated royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, where Camilla gave her stepdaughter-in-law a gold link bracelet with a single gold charm as a wedding gift. Kate was especially fond of Camilla's gift, having worn this bracelet on a number of public occasions.

As she turned 70 years old in 2017, Camilla had a candid interview with The Mail, in which she opened up about the past scandals revolving around her extramarital affair with Prince Charles and how the media and the public's outrage devastated her. She told the outlet: 'It was horrid. It was a deeply unpleasant time and I wouldn’t want to put my worst enemy through it. Camilla also credited the role of her family in helping her recover from the media attacks, saying: 'I couldn’t have survived it without my family.'

In 2020, as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic, Prince Charles and Camilla celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary, posting a photo of themselves with their bulldogs, Bluebell and Beth, on Twitter. In the same year, the couple also embarked on a trip to Greece as their first official royal tour since the outbreak of the pandemic.

2022 marks the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, making her the longest-reigning British monarch, having stayed on the throne for 70 years. In her milestone event, the Queen shared a message that she expects once Prince Charles inherits the throne from her, Camilla will take the title of Queen Consort of England. Back when she tied the knot with Prince Charles in 2005, Camilla was expected to be given the title of Princess Consort upon Charles's accession. However, that all changed as Her Majesty said: 'It is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.'