King Charles’ Former Staffer Reveals the Interesting Reason Why the Monarch Brought Him on His Honeymoon With Camilla

King Charles III and Queen Camilla (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles) have been married for 20 years. But much of their love story has been marred by the fact that Camilla was once Charles’ mistress and they carried on an affair for years while he was married to Princess Diana.

Following Diana’s death, Camilla was labeled public enemy No. 1, and it took years for the public to warm up to her. On April 9, 2005, she and Charles tied the knot. Because it was the second marriage for both of them, they had a civil ceremony before a church blessing took place at St George’s Chapel. The pair then went on their honeymoon somewhere pretty familiar and Charles made sure one of his senior aides joined them.

Read on to find out why.

Several staffers were invited to Charles and Camilla’s wedding, but 1 was invited on their honeymoon

Jack Stooks was King Charles’ senior gardener at the royal’s Highgrove estate for more than two decades

Speaking on behalf of Genting Casino, Stooks explained: “I worked alongside them for 21 years, so I’ve been there practically for most of the time that they have been married. When I arrived, she was just Mrs. PB. Once they were engaged, we were all invited into the house, and we were able to say congratulations and see the engagement ring. It was a really special occasion. Subsequently, we were invited to the wedding.”

Stooks told Jeffbet: “On the day of Charles and Camilla’s wedding, we were bused up to the venue from where we had parked. Those coaches were very interesting, we were mixed in with all the celebrities who had been invited. We then queued up outside St. George’s Chapel to get in for the ceremony … Everybody mixed together, staff and celebrities and other royal family members.

“The chapel was full of trees and flowers, it almost looked like a wildflower meadow. there were various spring bulbs emerging. I remember there were some lovely white flowering amelanchiers.”

Stooks then traveled on their honeymoon to Birkhall at Balmoral in Scotland with them.

“I actually went on honeymoon with [Charles and Camilla] and planted some of those flowers up at the Balmoral Estate, and the rest were taken back to be planted at Highgrove. I was lucky enough to go on their honeymoon, and I got to see them all happy having just been married up at the Balmoral estate. I helped plant plants from St. George’s Chapel.”

Former gardener says King Charles is so ‘proud’ of how Camilla has taken to her royal roles

According to Stooks, it’s easy to tell just how proud Charles is of Camilla, what she overcame, and the type of queen she is today.

He said: “[Camilla] has never put a foot wrong while she’s been the Duchess of Cornwall. She’s never put a foot wrong while she’s been the queen. She’s been amazing through all her duties. She’s by Charles’ side whenever he needs her to be there … she’s the queen who is always behind him and following his lead.”

The former royal gardener continued: “The royal family has moved forward a lot in recent years and Camilla has played an important part in that. They’ve come far as a family, and people have seen what the king is doing to keep the royal family going. She’s been there for him through hard times and will always be a massive support.

“She obviously adores him and always will, and he obviously adores her and always will. Charles will continue to be very proud of her and what she’s had to endure over the years from the general public, particularly in the early stages. There’s literally nothing that he couldn’t be proud of her for.”