The Truth About Duchess Camilla's Life

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have now been married for 14 years. 

They've been in love for almost 50, however, to one degree or another.

Their marriage, on April 9, 2005, started a new chapter of their epic love story but also was the culmination of a journey that easily could have gone another way, considering both married and had children with other people first—and one hails from a family that historically holds the reins rather tightly when it comes to who is considered a suitable mate for one of their own.

They had been constant companions for years by the time they said their I-dos at Windsor Guildhall, but by then each well into their 50s and with the confrontation-averse Charles content to just continue on as they were, there had been no certainty that they would ever become husband and wife.

But seemingly anyone who's spent time with the couple thinks he made the right move by tying the knot. Even his mother, the piece of the puzzle that took the longest to fit into place, thought so.

At their wedding reception, Queen Elizabeth II famously said in toasting the newlyweds, "I have two important announcements to make. The first is that Hedgehunter has won the Grand National." The steeplechase that also took place that morning was delayed 25 minutes so the BBC could televise their prayer service at St. George's Chapel.

Continuing with the racing metaphor, the mother of the groom added, "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."

And the woman he really loved had to date been the only woman who turned Charles into the best version of himself—because she loved him just as he was, no matter what.

E!