King Charles’s love for Queen Camilla has long been evident, even in the face of her past smoking habit, which he tolerated for years before she finally decided to quit. This enduring patience speaks volumes about his commitment to Camilla, especially given his lifelong status as a “fastidious non-smoker,” according to royal staff.

Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth delves into the complex relationship between King Charles and Queen Camilla in his 2005 book, “Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair.” The book traces their journey from their initial encounter at a polo match in 1970 to their eventual marriage in 2005.

Brandreth offers a detailed account of the breakdown of Charles’s marriage to Princess Diana and his subsequent return to Camilla. He notes that Charles, in a state of desperation, sought to “rekindle their earlier friendship” out of fear that he might otherwise “go stark, raving mad.”

This renewed connection took place in 1986, marking what Brandreth refers to as “episode three of the mini-series” of their enduring affair. By this time, Charles’s affection for Camilla had evolved into what Brandreth describes as an “obsession,” leaving him feeling “morally checkmated.”

This was in 1986, the year that Charles, now 77, and Camilla came back into each other’s lives or – as Mr Brandreth described it – ‘episode three of the mini-series’ of their affair. 

By then, his love for Camilla had turned into a full-blown ‘obsession’, according to Mr Brandreth, as Charles found himself ‘morally checkmated’. 

While his marriage to Diana had broken down, Charles feared his title meant he could  not ‘escape her’. 

At the same time, he ‘could not, would not, give up Camilla’ but worried endlessly about the ‘indignities’ and ‘calumnies’ he knew his then-mistress was subjected to.

If love is blind, it is also anosmic as far as King Charles is concerned, as he put up with Queen Camilla’s smoking habit for years before she finally quit. The now King and Queen are seen together during an engagement at Clarence House in 2005 – the year they finally tied the knot

In fact, there is no greater sign of his ‘devotion’ to Camilla Parker Bowles than his patience for her past nicotine addiction, royal staff felt, considering he has been a ‘fastidious non-smoker’ all his life

So, their affair continued – at the homes of ‘obliging friends’, Balmoral, and Highgrove House – but the late Eighties were a period marked by great turmoil for the future King. 

He was so distraught, a friend of the couple claimed, that Charles ‘fantasised about escaping to Italy and living in exile’ with the only woman who truly loved him – but remained ‘loyal’ to the throne despite reports of him ‘being selfish’. 

Accounts of Charles’s absolute devotion to Camilla – including overlooking her smoking habit – also came from members of staff at the royal household, including the housekeeper at Highgrove House from 1985 until 1992. 

At the time, Britain’s former ‘playboy prince’ was spending several hours playing polo to escape the ‘impossibility of my situation’ and found it harder and harder to focus on his duties, according to Mr Brandreth. 

Charles found that polo distracted him from the misery of his situation because it required total concentration, but it appears the future King remained preoccupied with thoughts of Camilla when he ‘came a cropper’ during a match in 1990 and broke his arm. 

After receiving treatment at two hospitals, including the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, Diana reportedly drove him to Highgrove, hoping to ‘nurse and care for him’ – but was ‘rebuffed’ by an ‘irritated’ Charles. 

Her former butler Paul Burrell told Mr Brandreth that Dana left ‘feeling “utterly rejected” and “unwanted” before Camilla arrived, much to Charles’s delight. 

However, Mr Burrell noted, she did not stay over. 

Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth chronicled the King and now Queen’s tumultuous love story in his 2005 book ‘Charles & Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair’ – from their first meeting at a polo match in 1970 to their 2005 wedding. They are seen here at Windsor Castle after announcing their engagement in February 2005

After smoking for 30 years, Camilla finally ditched the habit in 2001 due to her suffering from rhinitis – or hay fever during pollen season – that irritates the eyes, nose and throat

During those years, the royal butler added, Camilla was a frequent visitor to Highgrove but ‘did not effectively move in or host dinner parties’. 

Wendy Berry, who served as Highgrove’s housekeeper during Charles and Camilla’s torrid affair, reported that the monarch was ‘always relieved to see her’ and made sure to plant a kiss ‘firmly on her lips’ when she arrived. 

Such was his love for Camilla that Charles ‘suspended’ his acute distaste for smoking as Ms Berry recalled a ‘collection of ashtrays’ placed around the terrace of Highgrove for Camilla. 

Mr Brandreth wrote: ‘Here is the paragraph from Wendy Berry’s testimony that, for me, illustrates Charles’s devotion to his mistress better than any other.’ 

Quoting Ms Berry, he continued: ‘Charles’s hatred of smoking was suspended as Camilla puffed away, putting the butts in a collection of ashtrays arranged around the terrace for her benefit. 

‘Later on Charles would let her run around him like a wife as they invited mutual friends over for drinks and meals,’ she reported. ‘Sometimes we were told not to get help, but to stay in the background until everyone had left.’ 

While Charles and Camilla continued their affair behind closed doors, Diana publicly maintained that all was well in her marriage. 

Explaining their increasingly frequent solo appearances, and rumours Charles and Diana barely spent any time together by 1987, the late Princess said: ‘It’s very simple. 

‘My husband and I get around 2,000 invitations every six months. We can’t do them all, but if we split them up, with him doing some and me doing others, we can fulfil twice as many.’ 

Five years later, her no-holds-barred account of her marriage to the Prince of Wales was published before former Prime Minister John Major confirmed Diana and Charles were separating in a statement at the House of Commons. 

The foreword for Andrew Morton’s groundbreaking biography Diana: Her True Story read: ‘Even at a distance of more than a quarter of a century, it is a scarcely believable story.

‘Hollywood producers would dismiss the script as much too far-fetched; a beautiful but desperate princess, an unknown writer, an amateur go-between and a book that would change the Princess’s life forever.’ 

After their separation – and eventual divorce from Diana in 1996 – Charles made his first public appearance with Camilla in 1999, with the couple moving into Clarence House together in 2003. 

Their engagement was announced in February 2005 and, 35 years after they first laid eyes on each other at Windsor Great Park, Charles and Camilla were wed in a civil ceremony on April 9, 2005. 

After smoking for 30 years, Camilla finally ditched the habit in 2001 due to her suffering from rhinitis – or hay fever during pollen season – that irritates the eyes, nose and throat. 

A friend of hers told the Daily Mail at the time that Camilla developed a ‘persistent cough’ that, although unrelated to her smoking, became the catalyst for her lifestyle change. 

Such was his love for Camilla that Charles ‘suspended’ his acute distaste for smoking as Ms Berry recalled a ‘collection of ashtrays’ placed around the terrace of Highgrove for Camilla

Then 53, Camilla is believed to have told the friend: ‘It wasn’t so much me giving up on smoking, rather smoking giving up on me.’

Last November, the Queen spoke about her past smoking habit during her first royal engagement after she was struck down by a nasty chest infection that forced her to cancel a week’s worth of events, including over Remembrance Weekend. 

Camilla joined Charles, who is patron of the Film and TV Charity, for a Buckingham Palace reception where she caught up with Emily Mortimer. 

The Queen is friendly with the Paddington in Peru actress’s mother, Penelope, and reportedly asked how she was doing. 

When Emily told her ‘she’s still smoking as much as ever’, Camilla is believed to have replied: ‘Oh, she’s still on the fags?’ 

When the Mary Poppins Returns star asked Camilla if she had quit, she told Emily: ‘Oh, yes, I quit 20 years ago.’

Her son Tom Parker Bowles previously addressed rumours about his mother’s smoking habit during an interview with The Times. 

‘Oh you know she has that reputation of drinking gin and smoking?’ he told the newspaper, before adding: ‘Never drunk a glass of gin in her life. Doesn’t smoke.’