This week sees the 20th anniversary of a major milestone for the Duchess of Cornwall.
It is unlikely to be marked on Monday by the Royal Household – but Operation Ritz in 1999 was a big deal.
Just before midnight on January 28 1999, the Prince of Wales and his long-term love, Camilla Parker Bowles, stepped out in public for the first time as a couple.
Future king Charles, then 50, and his former mistress had gone to great lengths to avoid being seen – or photographed together in public.
But the carefully choreographed “coming out” signalled their relationship was finally official.
Charles emerged first, just ahead of Camilla, and walked down the steps of the hotel into a barrage of camera flashlights.
At the foot of the steps, a beaming prince momentarily lost sight of Camilla, glancing to either side before guiding her with his arm towards the kerb side rear passenger door of their waiting Vauxhall Omega.
The Queen recognised their relationship in 2000 by attending a birthday lunch for King Constantine with Camilla present.
In June 2001, the prince and Camilla shared their first public kiss at a party thrown to support the National Osteoporosis Society.
Now she has developed her own role through her charity work, including raising awareness of osteoporosis, promoting literacy, and supporting survivors of sexual assaults and domestic abuse.
Royal aides insisted, when she married Charles, that Camilla did not want to be queen and said originally that she “intended” to be known instead as Princess Consort – the first in British history – when Charles acceded to the throne.
Any mention of “Princess Consort” was removed from Charles’s website during a revamp in 2018.
