20 years of King Charles-Camilla's marriage: When Prince Harry, William begged their father not to marry her after Princess Diana's tragic death

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are marking a major milestone in their royal journey—20years of marriage—with a new set of portraits taken in Rome.
The images, released Monday on social media, show the couple smiling and relaxed at Villa Wolkonsky, the British ambassador’s residence in Italy. Their visit coincides with a four-day state trip, during which the King is expected to address the Italian parliament.

In one of the photos, Charles, 76, and Camilla, 77, are seen standing arm in arm in a verdant garden setting. The second photo captures a more intimate moment, with the King gazing affectionately at Camilla as they sit together on a stone ledge.

“As we begin our first visit to Italy as King and Queen, we are so looking forward to celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary in such a special place – and with such wonderful people!” they captioned the post. “A presto, Roma e Ravenna!”

Their wedding, which took place on April 9, 2005, was the result of a relationship that had spanned more than three decades. The ceremony itself was unconventional, consisting of a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall followed by a blessing at St George’s Chapel, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The event was dubbed a “fairytale for grown-ups.” The couple beamed with joy as they posed on the steps of Windsor Castle and greeted the public on a royal walkabout. Even the weather played its part, offering a bright spring day for the celebrations.

But the path to the altar wasn’t easy.

In his 2023 memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed that both he and Prince William had urged their father not to marry Camilla.
“We support you,” Harry wrote. “'We endorse Camilla,' we said. 'Just please don’t marry her. Just be together, Pa'.”
This conversation reportedly happened after the princes formally met Camilla in 1998 at Highgrove, a year after the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash.
Following the introduction, Harry said they told their father they would accept Camilla and welcome her into the family, but asked for one condition.

“All we asked in return was that he not marry her,” Harry wrote. “You don’t need to remarry, we pleaded. A wedding would cause controversy. It would incite the press. It would make the whole country, the whole world, talk about Mummy, compare Mummy and Camilla, and nobody wanted that. Least of all Camilla.”
According to Harry, Charles did not reply, but Camilla’s intentions became clear to him.
He claimed, “She began the long game, a campaign aimed at marriage and eventually the Crown.” In his book, Harry at length talked about how to improve Camilla's image in public, and a targeted campaign was run by the palace at the order of King Charles.
Harry also alleged that Camilla leaked details of private meetings with him and William to the press, using the media to shape public perception.