The relationship of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles went through a series of rough patches. In 1999, or two years after the death of his first wife, Princess Diana, the Prince of Wales officially confirmed that he's together with Camilla but it took him six years to finally marry her.
According to royal biographer Penny Junor, Prince Charles had a good but heartbreaking reason to not rush into marrying his true love. Junor said that it was a matter of being sensitive to his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, who were fiercely loyal to their mother.
Junor went on to write in her book, "The Firm," that Prince William and Prince Harry got along with Camilla and the boys also like her children from her first marriage. However, Prince Charles, apparently, did not want to bring a stepmother into their family until they have fully grown up into men.
Throughout her relationship with Prince Charles, Camilla was seen as the third party that broke up his royal fairytale marriage to Princess Diana because they carried on an affair for years. As such, Prince Charles' son was keenly aware that their mother's sadness was partly due to Camilla and accepting her was complicated even though they were fond of their father's true love.
In another book written by Junor, "The Duchess: The Untold Story," Camilla's father was, reportedly, not happy that his daughter could not yet get married to Prince Charles. Major Bruce Shand, apparently, called the future King of England a weakling because he has not yet done the right thing and marry his daughter.
Shand also, reportedly, confronted Prince Charles after his affair with Camilla blew up in public. He blamed the Prince of Wales for "ruining his daughter's life" because of the various reports that maligned and demeaned her person. He also told Prince Charles that he wished to see Camilla becoming his wife officially before he died.
But, no matter how he felt about his daughter's relationship with Prince Charles, Shand was able to set aside his feelings when they finally married in 2005. He passed way due to a disease a year later.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles have been married for 14 years in a civil rites at the Service of Blessing in Windsor. According to BBC History, there was instant attraction between these two people when they met.
