King Charles and Queen Camilla Are All Smiles for 20th Wedding Anniversary in Rome: ‘A Special Place’

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are celebrating 20 years of marriage in Rome!

The British royals touched down in Italy for a state visit on Monday, April 7, and posed for new photos to mark two decades of marriage.

In photos shared via social media, Charles, 76, is seen wearing a smart blue suit as he locks arms with his wife. Camilla, 77, is seen wearing a white dress.

“As we begin our first visit to Italy as King and Queen, we are so looking forward to celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary in such a special place – and with such wonderful people,” the couple shared in a message. “A presto, Roma e Ravenna! -Charles R & Camilla R.”

During their state visit to Italy, Charles and Camilla are expected to undertake engagements in Rome and Ravenna. The couple were expected to meet Pope Francis in the Holy See; however, in March, Buckingham Palace announced the visit had been “postponed by mutual agreement” following the pope’s recent health struggles.

A palace statement said that “medical advice has now suggested that Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation.”

“Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered,” the statement continued.

The monarchs married on April 9, 2005, in a civil wedding at Windsor Guildhall in Windsor, England. The couple were later joined by Charles’ late parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, for a service of prayer at St George’s Chapel and a reception at Windsor Castle. Camilla was given the title of the Duchess of Cornwall after her marriage to Charles. She later became Queen Camilla following Queen Elizabeth’s death and Charles’ ascension to the throne in September 2022.

Before his marriage to Camilla, Charles was married to Princess Diana from 1981 to 1996. The former couple shared two children, Prince William, 42, and Prince Harry, 40.

Camilla, meanwhile, was married to British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles from 1973 to 1995. They share two children, Tom Parker Bowles, 50, and Laura Lopes, 47.

Charles and Camilla’s romance began long before their first marriages and resumed while Charles was married to Diana.

Rumors of an affair started swirling in 1986, seven years before the release of a transcript of a 1989 phone call between Charles and Camilla that featured several suggestive comments. At one point, Charles allegedly said he wanted to “live inside [Camilla’s] trousers” and joked about reincarnating as a tampon. The incident was henceforth nicknamed Camillagate or Tampongate.

Charles eventually admitted that he had been unfaithful during a televised interview in 1994.

“Yes,” Charles said when asked whether he had committed infidelity. “[Not] until it became clear that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.”

Charles, however, refused to name Camilla at the time despite reports that she was the person with whom he had an affair.

The interview took place amid Charles and Diana’s separation, which was announced in 1992. Diana, for her part, broke her silence in her own bombshell interview.

“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana infamously said in a 1995 interview with BBC’s Panorama when asked whether Camilla contributed to her split from Charles.