Prince Charles And Camilla Post Loving Picture As A Thank You For Anniversary Well Wishes

May 11, 2021 by apost team

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's relationship have definitely raised eyebrows over the years. The couple was believed to have had an affair while Charles was still married to Princess Diana. During the last few years of Diana's life, it was reported that the alleged affair tormented her. There was even an interview from 1995 where she references the affair to a young Prince William.

Then tragedy struck when Princess Diana passed away due to a car accident in 1996. Following this, Prince Charles and Camilla began officially seeing each other two years after Princess Diana's death. Because of Diana's untimely passing, Prince Charles did not want to overwhelm his family with the sudden inclusion of a new spouse, as Prince Harry and Prince William were still minors when their mother passed. Therefore, Charles decided that it would be best to wait until they were adults to get married to Camilla.

So, finally, in 2005, they married in a private ceremony, despite dating in public for six years prior to tying the knot. Since then, their relationship has been a stable one, as they've embarked on royal trips together, as well as many official engagements. Celebrating their anniversary on April 9, this year their 16th wedding anniversary was tinged with sadness, as Prince Charles' father, Prince Philip, passed away that morning.

Now, over one month since the Duke of Edinburgh's passing, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have released a lovely new photo of them alongside giving many thanks for their anniversary well wishes. Let's take a look.

When Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, passed away on April 9, the royal family went into mourning. But on top of losing his father that day, Prince Charles' wedding anniversary celebrations with his wife of 16 years, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were also cut short. Now, over one month after their 16th wedding anniversary, Prince Charles and Camilla have released a new photo alongside a message to the public, giving thanks to those who wished them a happy anniversary.

The lovely photo of the couple was taken back in October after four life-size elephant sculptures were delivered to the Prince of Wales' Highgrove country estate. On the back of the image, the Duchess of Cornwall included a message that was partly handwritten by herself, which included the signoff, "With best wishes, Camilla."

The photo sees the couple smiling widely at the camera as they stand behind one of the elephant sculptures, while another can be seen in the background. The artworks have a deeper meaning for the couple, as they're related to an initiative that was started by the Elephant Family — a charity that Mark Shand, Camilla's brother, co-founded in 2002. Sadly, he passed away in 2014, but the duchess revealed in Oct. 2020 that she thought her brother would be "so proud" of the sculptures, as reported by Hello!. She stated at the time:

"I think they're so beautiful and my brother, who founded the charity, I think if he saw all these elephants now scattering across the south-west of England, he’d be so proud."

apost.com

Intended to be a herd of 125 sculptures that were meant to "migrate" through Berkeley Square and the Royal Parks in London, as part of CoExistence, an environmental art exhibition put on by the charity, the plans were put on hold due to the pandemic. This resulted in the sculptures being locked in a barn in the Cotswolds on the farm of Ruth Ganesh, who is Elephant Family's Principal Trustee.

Wishing to find a way to help the cause, the Duchess of Cornwall had the idea to create an elephant adoption agency, where the sculptures would be placed with some of her friends over the winter. Doing their part, Camilla and Prince Charles had four of the elephants delivered to their country home.

Furthermore, the artisans behind the stunning elephant sculptures are mostly from the Adivasi tribal communities in India, who themselves live close by wild elephants. Upon seeing the gorgeous artworks, it's clear that there is a big level of respect for these majestic creatures by the people that made them.

Speaking back in October, Camilla elaborated further on the project and her brother's involvement, as reported by Hello!:

"When sadly he died, having raised a lot of money for the charity and my husband and I took it on, I don't think he would have believed how well it could have [gone]."

It's heartwarming to know that Prince Charles and Camilla received the utmost love and well wishes on their anniversary, despite Prince Philip's death falling on the same day. And to see that they've thanked everyone in such a meaningful way, with a photo that also commemorates Camilla's brother's charity, is truly wonderful. 

Do you think this was a lovely gesture by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in honor of those who sent them well-wishes on their anniversary? Be sure to pass this on to people you know so they can stay up to date too.