Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall’s ice breaker joke with Prince Charles ended up being a “mirror image” of what happened to the couple later in life, according to royal commentators. The future consort made the young Prince of Wales aware of their “royal connection” during their first meeting at a party. Commentators discussed the unique quip about her family reputation on Channel 5 documentary, ‘Camilla: Making of a Mistress’.
Vanity Fair Royal Editor Katie Nicholl said: “[Camilla] is reported to have broken the ice when she met Charles by almost boasting that her great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, had had a affair with another heir apparent, King Edward VII.
“So she was aware of that royal connection.”
Camilla had grown up on the fringes of aristocratic society.
The Duchess of Cornwall’s mother, Rosalind Cubitt, was the daughter of Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe.
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Rosalind’s mother, Sonia Rosemary Keppel, came from Alice Keppel’s line.
Royal author Tom Quinn gave further insight on the connection that links Charles and Camilla: “It shows what an extraordinary family they were.
“Alice Keppel wasn’t a sort of dark, embarrassing secret.
“The fact that she’d been mistress to a king was something the whole family admired.”
He told Channel 5: “It certainly adds a sense of symmetry to their romance if nothing else.”
Camilla and Charles were romantically involved both before and during each other’s first marriages.
In an infamous 1994 interview with Jonathan Dimbleby, the Prince of Wales admitted to adultery while wed to Diana, Princess of Wales.
However, he said that it had only resumed in 1986, after his marriage had “irretrievably broken down”.
The future king claimed his relationship with Camilla had ceased when he got married to Diana in 1981.
