In reality, itвЂ™s unclear whether the royal family actively plotted to separate the couple, but according to Brown, the royals did see Camilla as a вЂњlearning experienceвЂќ for Charles and nothing more. In Season 3 of the show, Lord Mountbatten arranges for Charles to be sent on a Navy mission to separate him from Camilla. As Brown wrote, вЂњMy own view is that the love of CamillaвЂ™s life was not Prince Charles but the man she married first-Andrew Parker Bowles вЂ¦ Her dalliance with Charles had been fun, flattering and sexy, but her friends knew all along that her consuming passion was Andrew.вЂќ Camilla did actually seem to love both Charles and Andrew. CharlesвЂ™ uncle, Lord Mountbatten, reportedly wrote in a letter to his nephew, вЂњI think it is disturbing for women to have experiences if they have to remain on a pedestal after marriage.вЂќ Diana, by contrast, was at least presumed to be a virgin, in part because of her young age and lack of dating experience: Charles was her first real boyfriend.Д«ut the biggest obstacle for Camilla and CharlesвЂ™ relationship was Camilla herself. The royal familyвЂ™s obsession with the virginity of the future princess was somewhat out of step with the modernity of the 1980s, but according to Tina BrownвЂ™s 2011 book The Diana Chronicles, it was of utmost importance to the family.Д¬amilla had dated several men by the time she began seeing Charles, including her future husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. (Diana, by contrast, was the daughter of an earl.) Nor did Camilla have DianaвЂ™s virginal reputation, a so-called problem that largely goes unspoken in The Crown. Charles and Camilla met in the summer of 1971, and though they spent just six months together, Charles was smitten.Д«ut CamillaвЂ™s family did not have a title. Many historians have argued that the royal family could have avoided scandal had they only allowed the heir to the throne to marry his first love, Camilla Shand, later Camilla Parker Bowles. Why didnвЂ™t Charles marry Camilla in the first place? HereвЂ™s everything you need to know about the true story behind Charles, Diana and CamillaвЂ™s love triangle. Charles and CamillaвЂ™s affair also exploded into the headlines, years before they would finally marry. Charles and DianaвЂ™s fights leaked into the tabloids and presaged their eventual divorce.

Their relationship turns explosive, and the royal family finally begins to face the consequences of their draconian rules about love, divorce and duty. But unlike the couples who came before, Charles and Diana donвЂ™t just fester in their unhappiness.

Predictably, their marriage is miserable, and Charles continues to see Camilla behind DianaвЂ™s back. At the beginning of the new season, Charles honors the now-grand royal tradition of falling in love with someone he canвЂ™t marry (the already wed Camilla Parker Bowles) and instead proposes to Diana, a teenager whom he barely knows. Enter Diana Spencer, the most highly-anticipated character in the showвЂ™s history.

Prince charles and diana