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Why Duchess Camilla's wedding dress with ex-husband may have inspired future fashion

Camilla was married Andrew Parker Bowles from 1973 to 1995

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Nichola Murphy
Deputy Lifestyle Editor
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The Duchess of Cornwall wed Prince Charles in 2005, but she was formerly married to Major Andrew Parker-Bowles. 

RELATED: Royals who remarried after divorce: From Meghan Markle to Princess Anne

Camilla chose very different outfits for each occasion, and her first dress has one striking similarity to a lot of her outfits today. Back in July 1973, Camilla and Andrew said 'I do' at St. James's Palace, with the bride wearing a pie crust collar white gown with long sleeves and a ruffled hem. 

WATCH: Stunning royal wedding dresses that will leave you speechless

Today, Camilla is often pictured layering a pie crust blouse underneath dresses and jumpers, including during a visit to Scotland in August 2021, and while appearing in a video message from Birkhall in June 2020 – so perhaps her first wedding inspired her timeless style choices.

SEE: Best photos from Prince Charles and Camilla's royal wedding

MORE: Why the Queen wore white on Duchess Camilla's wedding day

camilla andrew wedding

Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973

She went on to have two children with her first husband. The couple welcomed their son Tom in 1974 and daughter Laura in 1978, but they split in 1995, the year after Prince Charles admitted to committing adultery with Camilla while he was still married to Princess Diana.

The Duchess and the Prince of Wales went on to marry in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, Berkshire, before holding a service of blessing at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 9 April 2005.

prince charles camilla scotland

The Duchess often wears pie crust shirts. Pictured in Scotland in 2021.

To celebrate the occasion, Camilla opted for two unconventional outfits that were both designed by Anna Valentine and Antonia Robinson. The bride looked elegant for the civil ceremony, wearing a beautiful cream silk chiffon dress with a matching coat and a wide-brimmed straw hat by Philip Treacy. 

She changed into a pale blue chiffon gown with a long-sleeved, gold-embroidered coat over the top that matched her gold feathered hat by the same milliner. 

charles camilla wedding

The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles on their wedding day

One accessory that was missing during her royal wedding was a tiara. Although Camilla was pictured wearing a diamond-encrusted headpiece that was believed to be a family heirloom from her maternal grandmother Sonia Rosemary Cubitt, Baroness Ashcombe during her first wedding, she simply opted for hats for her wedding with Charles.

This could be because she had been married before and the ceremony did not take place in a Church. Likewise, Princess Anne chose not to wear a tiara for her second wedding with Sir Timothy Laurence in 1992.

READ: 10 celebrities who boldly rewore their wedding dresses

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