Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-ruling monarch, died aged 96 on Thursday. With her gone, Prince Charles is next in line to be Britain's reigning monarch and his second wife Camilla Parker Bowles will be the queen consort. A report in a British tabloid claimed she would wear the precious Kohinoor diamond that was plundered by the country during its two-century rule in India.
The Kohinoor diamond is believed to be the most expensive diamond found in the world ever. It was found in the 14th century and eventually ended up in British coffers after their annexation of Punjab. It will adorn Camella's head as she becomes the queen of England.
Who is Camilla Parker?
Camilla Parker is the second wife of the new UK king, Charles. His first wife, Princess Diana, died aged 36 in a car crash in France's capital Paris in 1997. Camilla Parker was the love interest of Prince Charles even when he was married to Diana. Before Camilla married Charles in 2005, she was one of the most hated figures in Britain.
Charles and Diana divorced in 1996. Diana, the most popular British monarch at the time, blamed Camilla for her divorce.
There was a time it was inconceivable that Camilla and Charles would ever get married.
But last year, Queen Elizabeth gave her blessings to Parker to be the queen-consort.
Camila, 75, was born in 1947. Her father was an army officer and a wine merchant, her mother was an aristocrat. She was educated in London, Switzerland and France. She met Charles in the 1970s at a polo field.
After initially dating for some time, Camilla married an Army officer, Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, and had two children with him. They divorced in 1995.
Charles dedicated himself to his naval career.
Charles later married Diana and had two children. However, he entered into an affair with Camilla.
In 1993, their private conversation was published by a British newspaper in which Charles told Camilla that he wanted to live inside her trousers and be reincarnated as a tampon.
Bowles had replied that Prince Charles' greatest achievement was to love her.
Charles later admitted in a TV interview that he had resumed their affair six years after marrying Diana.
Diana later called Camilla the Rottweiler. She told a television channel that three people were in her relationship.
Prince Philip, who died last year, had written to Diana in a letter: “Charles was silly to risk everything with Camilla for a man in his position. I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla.”
With inputs from Reuters
