Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

cpmary

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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall GCVO CSM (Camilla Rosemary; née Shand, previously Parker Bowles; born 17 July 1947), is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Instead of using the title Princess of Wales, she is styled through her husband's secondary designations as Duchess of Cornwall and, in Scotland, Duchess of Rothesay. These were adopted because of the strong association of the primary title with his first wife, Lady Diana Spencer, who was titled Princess of Wales.

Camilla was born into a gentry family as the eldest child of Major Bruce Shand and his wife, the Honourable Rosalind Cubitt, the daughter of British aristocrat Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe. She was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington, and was educated in England, Switzerland and France. Subsequently, she worked for different firms based in central London, most notably the decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. In 1973, Camilla married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she has two children and five grandchildren. In 1995, Camilla and Parker Bowles divorced.

For many years, Camilla and the Prince of Wales had a controversial relationship, which was highly publicised in the media and attracted worldwide scrutiny.^{[fn 2]} In 2005, it culminated in a civil marriage at Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised Anglican blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at