Charles and Camilla’s tearful 2005 union followed 34 years of love, scandal, and resilience.

Two decades on, the memories of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s wedding remain etched in royal history—not just for its political and public turbulence, but for the outpouring of raw emotion that followed the vows.

The royal couple, who married on April 9, 2005, shed what were described as “tears of joy” moments after saying “I do” at Windsor Guildhall, marking the culmination of a 34-year-long love story that had defied queens, scandal, and the glare of a disapproving nation.

Royal biographer Penny Junor reflected on the occasion in The Sun, revealing intimate details of the couple’s emotional state as they re-entered Windsor Castle as husband and wife. “They both wept,” she wrote. “Their tears set off the staff who were waiting for them, and soon everybody was sobbing.”

Those tears weren’t for show—they were the release of decades of suppressed affection, political manoeuvring, public scrutiny, and private heartbreak.

Camilla and Charles had known and loved each other since the early 1970s. But the shadow of Charles’s first marriage to Princess Diana—and the controversy surrounding their extramarital relationship—cast a long and painful veil over their path to acceptance. The couple were vilified in tabloids, criticised by the public, and even opposed by members of the Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II herself at times.

“A queen had tried to prise them apart. A princess had shamed them. A whole country had turned against them,” Junor observed.

Yet through the emotional minefield of royal duty and tabloid fury, their love endured. Even after Diana’s tragic death in 1997, it took years for Charles to reintroduce Camilla to the public and longer still for her to be accepted as his legitimate partner, let alone future Queen.

Their 2005 civil ceremony, modest by royal standards, was followed by a blessing at St George’s Chapel. It marked a turning point in royal history—a rare instance where love conquered protocol.

As they took their first steps into married life at Windsor Castle, their tears symbolised more than joy. They were tears for the years spent in the shadows, for the pain endured, and for the simple, hard-won right to be together openly.

Today, King Charles and Queen Camilla stand as monarch and consort, no longer confined by whispers of scandal. Their journey is a testament to loyalty, patience, and a love that refused to die—even when the world demanded it should.