In Diana's own words to Andrew Morton back in 1991: 'So walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, pale grey, veiled pillbox hat'. "However, in images and photos from the day, it does certainly look like she is wearing white!
Camilla Parker Bowles, as she was known then, wore a pale grey dress to the service which many assumed was a white gown. The leading wedding expert and editor of Hitched.co.uk, Zoe Burke,... Camilla did attend Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981.
I looked for her," Diana said, according to Andrew Morton's biography Diana: Her True Story — In Her Own Words. "So walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, pale gray, veiled pillbox hat, saw it all, her son Tom standing on a chair. To this day you know — vivid memory."
Camilla wore a similar revenge dress to Princess Diana's in 1995 - a year after the Princess' dress made headlines around the world - when she was photographed at London's Ritz Hotel wearing a shoulder-baring black dress similar to Diana's when she stepped out in public with Charles for the first time.
So walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, [she was wearing a] pale grey, veiled pillbox hat. [I] saw it all, her son Tom standing on a chair. To this day, you know - vivid memory. '
However, Princess Diana said that Camilla did not wear white, noting instead that the future queen consort donned a light gray for the occasion.
The Queen's funeral is being held at Westminster Abbey
The Queen Consort wore a black coat dress, accessorised with a black floral hat and short matching veil. She completed the look with the Hesse heart-shaped diamond jubilee brooch, which belonged to Queen Victoria.
Camilla may have been at Diana's wedding but she was not welcome at her funeral, which was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world. Still, to many her absence echoed around the ancient hall. The Queen made it clear to Charles that he could not take his paramour to the service.
The revealing ensemble was unusual for a member of the typically buttoned-up royal family — but that's not the only reason it grabbed headlines: Princess Diana wore the head-turning number the same night that Prince Charles confessed on national television that he had been unfaithful to her.
The dress in question, known today as the Revenge Dress, was designed by Christina Stambolian for Princess Diana, who memorably wore the black number on June 29, 1994 to the Serpentine Gallery, the same night that Prince Charles admitted to his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles on national television.
It's almost as if Charles had accepted that if he couldn't marry Camilla (who had been married to Andrew Parker Bowles since 1973), he wouldn't be happy no matter who he married, and so just went along with what his father thought was good for him and his country.
CAMILLA WAS IN ATTENDANCE
Despite Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' dating history, she still made the royal wedding's guest list — likely due to her husband Andrew Parker Bowles' role as the Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
Diana and Camilla might have never had a close friendship, but when Charles and Diana started dating the pair were friendly with each other. At the time Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles and had two children with him.
Since they did not actually tie the knot in a church, it was likely not considered custom for the current Queen Consort to wear a tiara. Camilla wore two outfits on her wedding day, both designed by Anna Valentine and Antonia Robinson.
The reason? According to the Telegraph, the Queen bowed out because of her role as head of the Church of England, which discourages divorce. This prominent role meant she would have had to uphold the Church's values. It's believed her duties outweighed familial obligations when making this decision.
Camilla, Queen Consort wore Queen Victoria's diamond brooch to Queen Elizabeth's funeral.
Many royal watchers noticed a change in Camila's style and noted it was similar to Diana's. The news about King Charles and Camilla's relationship became public in 1994. In light of this, Diana attended a public event dressed in what would become known as the "revenge dress".
Camilla in 1995 was accused of copying Diana's LBD when she stepped out in public with Prince Charles for the first time. Express noted that Camilla was spotted at London's Ritz Hotel in a shoulder-baring black dress along with a nearly identical pearl necklace.
The size 10 dress cost £900 when it was made and it sold at auction in July 1997 for £39,098 and bought by Scottish couple Graeme and Briege Mackenzie. "I can't fit into it, but that's not really the idea in this instance," Mrs Mackenzie told The Independent.
Reports in the British press say Camilla had little desire to attend the ceremony from the very start, but was persuaded by her husband that, as his wife and stepmother to his sons, she should be at his side. But a negative public backlash changed her mind, some British newspapers reported.
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A year after Diana's death in 1997, Charles and Camilla made their relationship public and eventually got married in 2005. On September 8, 2022, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles officially became King Charles III; Camilla will now be known as the Queen Consort.
Here's everything you need to know about their step-siblings, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles. Children of the Queen Consort, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles arrive with their family at Westminster Abbey ahead of The State funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
"The Hesse Diamond Jubilee Brooch was unseen for more than a century when Camilla started wearing it, and is believed to have been passed down from the Queen Mother, whose jewelry she wears regularly." Garrahan said. "It is one of Camilla's oldest pieces and its royal story links to her past and the monarchy's future."
Queen Camilla will wear Queen Mary's Crown
The palace noted the decision was made "in the interests of sustainability and efficiency."