King and Queen to spend 20th wedding anniversary at state banquet in Rome
The King and Queen will spend their 20th wedding anniversary evening as guests of honour at a state banquet in Rome.
Charles and Camilla are expected to be joined by leading figures from Italian life at the black-tie dinner held during the couple's four-day state visit to Italy.
The head of state and his consort wed in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on April 9 2005 following a romance that began when they were in their early 20s.
Charles first met fun, confident Camilla on Windsor Great Park polo field in 1970 when he had just left Cambridge University, a year before he joined the Royal Navy.
No marriage proposal came despite the closeness between the pair and when the relationship cooled after Charles dedicated himself to his Navy career, Camilla wed cavalry officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973 and Charles later married Diana, Princess of Wales in 1981.
After Charles and Camilla both divorced – and Diana died in l997 – Camilla's eventual emergence as Charles' long-term partner was part of a carefully planned PR campaign masterminded by the heir to the throne's spin doctor Mark Bolland.
At their wedding reception, held the same day as the Grand National, Queen Elizabeth II said about their romance: 'They have overcome Becher's Brook and The Chair and all kinds of other terrible obstacles. They have come through and I'm very proud and wish them well.
'My son is home and dry with the woman he loves.'
During the third day of their Italian state visit, Charles will become the first British monarch to address both houses of Italy's parliament – the chamber of deputies and the senate of the republic.
Before delivering his speech to the politicians, the King will have an audience with Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni, the country's first female premier who took up office in October 2022 at the head of a coalition of right-wing populist parties.
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