Queen Elizabeth snubbed Charles and Camilla's wedding — Here's why

As King Charles and Queen Camilla celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, royal watchers are reflecting on the unconventional start to their marriage — including the fact that the late Queen Elizabeth II did not attend their wedding ceremony.

Marking two decades of marriage on April 9, the royal couple is spending their milestone anniversary in Italy on a state visit. 

While the couple is now widely accepted as senior royals, it’s easy to forget how rocky the road to their marriage was. A resurfaced comment from a TikTok user reignited interest in the fact that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip skipped Charles and Camilla’s actual wedding in 2005.

The pair exchanged vows in a low-key civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, attended by just 28 guests — including Princes William and Harry and Camilla’s children, Tom and Laura Parker-Bowles. The Queen was notably absent.

At the time, a palace spokesperson claimed the Queen’s absence was in accordance with the couple’s wish to keep things low-profile.

But royal expert Robert Hardman later revealed in his biography that the late monarch’s decision reflected “disapproval of the arrangements, not of the marriage itself.”

What is King Charles and Queen Camilla's relationship timeline?

The couple first met in the early 1970s and began dating, but royal expectations and timing led Camilla to marry Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973, while Charles wed Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

Despite their separate marriages, the pair maintained a close bond, with their affair becoming public in the early 1990s and fuelling widespread controversy.

Following their respective divorces—and Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997—they made their first public appearance together in 1999 and married in a civil ceremony in 2005, after years of careful image management.

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