Camilla Parker-Bowles Admits Life Was ‘Horrid’ After Her Affair With Prince Charles Was Revealed

Camilla Parker-Bowles is one of the most famous women in the world, and she has become famous for being Prince Charles’ mistress. Now happily married to the man of her dreams, she spoke to You magazine and revealed what life was like when the affair with her prince was revealed to the public.

The affair was made public while she was still married to ex-husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, and Prince Charles was still married to Princess Diana.

According to Camilla Parker-Bowles, she felt like she was a prisoner in her own home when the news was finally made public.

“I couldn’t really go anywhere. But the children came and went as normal — they just got on with it, and so did great friends. It was horrid. It was a deeply unpleasant time and I wouldn’t want to put my worst enemy through it. I couldn’t have survived it without my family.”

Camilla Parker-Bowles and Prince Charles eventually got married in 2005 after an affair that had lasted several decades. The pair met in 1971 and broke up in 1973, but continued their love affair on the down-low throughout both of their marriages. Princess Diana, however, had her own affairs during her marriage to Prince Charles, but she had admitted that his relationship with Camilla had been one of the most devastating ones.

The Duchess of Cornwall and her husband, Andrew Parker-Bowles, split up in 1995, and she spent 10 years by herself before officially being welcomed into the royal family, something she thought would never happen.

And now that she’s nearing 70, the 69-year-old duchess confessed that her workload as a senior royal is only growing, which can be extremely daunting on some days. There are times, she admits, when she doesn’t even want to get up in the morning to do her royal duties, but she always has to find the energy somewhere.

She also revealed that one way to keep herself grounded is to inject humor into her everyday life and to laugh at herself.

“And you also have to laugh at yourself because if you can’t, you may as well give up. I sometimes think to myself, ‘Who is this woman? It can’t possibly be me.’ And that’s really how you survive. Also, having so many friends who, if I ever even vaguely look like getting uppity, which touch wood I never have, they would just say, ‘Look, come on, pull yourself together! Don’t be so bloody grand!'” she said.

Camilla Parker-Bowles admitted that her upbringing also helped her ready herself for the lifestyle she would be leading with her husband.

“Thank goodness I was brought up with the grounding of my parents, and taught manners. It sounds, especially in this day and age, sort of snobbish but we left school at 16, nobody went on to university unless you were a real brainbox. Instead, we went to Paris and Florence and learned about life and culture and how to behave with people, how to talk to people. This was very ingrained in my upbringing and if I hadn’t had that, I would have found royal life much more difficult.”

The Duchess of Cornwall goes to as many as 200 royal engagements a year, both at home and abroad, and continues to move forward despite her advancing age. And she isn’t showing any signs of stopping soon.

One of Camilla Parker-Bowles favorite things to do, alongside her husband, is working with Holocaust survivors and charities. She often visits Vienna, Poland, and other places where the Jewish community was devastated during World War II. Additionally, she is a fixture amongst the community of Holocaust survivors that currently reside in the United Kingdom.

[Featured Image by WPA/Pool/Getty Images]