(Photo: REUTERS/Chris Radburn/File Photo)
Queen Elizabeth II might have given Prince Charles and Camilla the permission to marry in 2005, but it seemed like she didn't like the wedding itself. Earlier reports revealed Her Majesty didn't attend the nuptials due to her duties, but she was said to disapprove her son's romance with the then-future Duchess of Cornwall for putting his personal feelings before duty.
In a report by the The Telegraph in 2005, the monarch let it be known that she would not grace the heir to the throne's wedding because of her duties as the head of the Church of England. By the looks of it, she put her leadership first before her family.
Queen Elizabeth reportedly told a friend that attending Prince Charles' civil marriage ceremony would contradict her role as the Supreme Governor of the Church. "I am not able to go. I do not feel that my position [as Supreme Governor of the Church] permits it," she allegedly said.
However, it had been widely reported at the time that Her Royal Highness would boycott the ceremony because she didn't want to attend a "humiliating town hall" service. She, too, disapproved of the heir's relationship with Camilla, thinking he put his personal concerns first before his duty.
"The Queen believes that the Prince of Wales has put his own gratification and interests before duty by pursuing his relationship with Camilla, and she can never forgive that," a courtier said, per Express. However, the Palace said at the time that the Queen Elizabeth's decision not to attend the wedding was because she liked to keep the event low-key.
The Queen, too, attended the religious blessing at St George's Chapel. She even hosted a wedding reception, which was reportedly graced by 700 people, for Prince Charles and Camilla.
Talks about Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding started in 2004, a year before their wedding. The Prince of Wales expressed at the time that he wanted his "non-negotiable" relationship with the duchess to turn into a marriage.
As the rule of law, Prince Charles neede to ask for permission from the Queen, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams to tie the knot. But, Camilla's own family questioned the delay of the prince's plan to ask for her hand.
In Penny Junor's 2017 biography, The Duchess: The Untold Story, Camilla's father, Major Bruce Shand, believed Prince Charles was weak for delaying their marriage. The author said that the primary force that persuaded Charles to do the right thing was Shand himself. Camilla was said to be grateful for her father for putting pressure on her now-husband to settle things down.
