17 rare photos of the early years of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort's relationship

Charles and Camilla met through a mutual friend in 1970, Evening Standard reported. 

According to The Washington Post, Camilla said to Charles upon their first meeting: "My great-grandmother was the mistress of your great-great-grandfather. I feel we have something in common."

By 1972, the pair already had a romantic relationship. However, as Insider previously reported, Camilla had also been involved on and off with Andrew Parker Bowles, making her an unsuitable candidate for marriage to the future king.

Camilla had been married to Parker Bowles for six years at the time the photo was taken. 

Charles had met Princess Diana in 1977, though they were not yet romantically involved.

Camilla also gave birth in the '70s.

She welcomed her son Tom Parker Bowles in 1974, and she gave birth to her daughter Laura Lopes in 1978. 

Charles married Diana on July 29, 1981. 

Camilla and her family were guests at the wedding, according to Harper's Bazaar. 

Camilla and Charles weren't seen publicly together for two decades, though they were having another affair by the mid-1980s.

Tapes of conversations between Charles and Camilla were leaked to the press in 1993.

Camilla and Parker Bowles divorced in 1995, and Charles and Diana divorced in 1996.

Charles threw Camilla a 50th birthday party in June 1997. A month later, Princess Diana died in a car accident. 

Charles and Camilla were finally photographed as a couple in 1999 as they exited her sister's birthday party at the Ritz Hotel.

The couple didn't touch each other much in public, but they were typically grinning when they were spotted together, as they were in this photo taken at an event they hosted in 2000.

They attended a charity gala in 2001, and the pair were grinning in photos taken of them throughout the night. 

Although it was well known Camilla and Charles were a couple, they didn't show physical affection for one another publicly until 2001.

The couple kissed at an event for the National Osteoporosis Society at Somerset House in London, smiling as they leaned into each other.

In 2002, photographers captured Charles and Camilla looking relaxed as they left a service at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk. 

In 2003, the year they moved in together, the couple were photographed driving in Charles' Aston Martin convertible.

He was pictured driving Diana in the car in 1985.

Camilla accompanied Charles to the Mey Highland Games in Caithness, Scotland, in 2004, and the longtime couple seemed to be laughing in photos from the event, showing their more relaxed side.

On February 10, 2005, the Palace announced the couple would be married on April 9, according to The Guardian. 

They posed for a photo at Windsor Castle while celebrating their engagement, both grinning widely. 

The couple seemed at ease in front of the cameras following their engagement. 

Camilla and Charles were married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005. They had a reception at Windsor Castle following the wedding. 

Camilla greeted her husband with a kiss after he won a polo match in June 2005.

While touring the SEED Public Charter School in Washington, DC, in November 2005, the couple giggled together as they signed a ledger.

At the 2005 Mey Highland Games, the couple were photographed laughing together.