When Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Consort, was getting ready to say “I do” to Prince Charles, now King Charles, on April 9, 2005, she had a bit of a wardrobe dilemma. Luckily, there was no tension around the situation: The Queen Consort just revealed that Queen Elizabeth II brought some levity to the mishap by laughing in response, Newsweek reports.
Camilla told the story about her wedding day mishap on September 18, 2022, during a tribute to the Queen before Britain’s national minute of silence. The former Duchess of Cornwall recounted the experience as a way to praise Queen Elizabeth’s sense of humor. “I remember coming from here, Clarence House, to go to Windsor the day I got married when I probably wasn’t firing on all cylinders—quite nervous,” she recounted in the tribute. “For some unknown reason, I put on a pair of shoes, and one had an inch heel and one had a 2-inch heel. So, I mean, talk about hop-along!”
Camilla continued, “There was nothing I could do. I was halfway down in the car before I realized. And, [the Queen] could see it, and she laughed about it and said, ‘I’m terribly sorry,’ and she did have a good sense of humor.”
The Queen didn’t always support the relationship between Camilla and Charles. After Princess Diana died in 1997, reports emerged that the Queen declined invitations to events where the two were present, including her son’s 50th birthday celebration.
In 2000, the Monarch met the Duchess of Cornwall for the first time when she attended a 60th birthday party for the King of Greece at Charles’s residence. According to the BBC, it was the Queen’s stamp of approval.
Five years later, Charles and Camilla were engaged after the Queen gave them her blessing. However, Queen Elizabeth didn’t attend the legal ceremony, but she did make an appearance at a secondary blessing, which she hosted at St. George’s Chapel.
In the following years, the Queen and the Duchess grew closer. Queen Elizabeth gave her signs of approval, such as the Royal Family Order and the Order of the Garter. She also wanted Camilla to take the title of Queen Consort. Since Camilla didn’t receive public approval after Princess Diana, she took on the title of Princess Consort at the time of her wedding.
The Queen decided to put the conversation about Camilla’s title to rest in February 2022 while delivering a message marking 70 years on the throne. “And, when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife, Camilla, the same support that you have given me,” she said. “And, it is my sincere wish that—when that time comes—Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.”
