After marrying Prince Charles in 2005, Camilla became the second-ranking female in the kingdom and she had been closely following William's romantic affairs.
It was the biggest media event of the twenty-first century and was estimated to have been watched on television and via the internet by some three billion people.
Growing up, Carole's family moved from a cramped, unheated flat in London's downscale Southall to a larger house in the nearby area of Ealing, decidedly more affluent but not any closer to her fantasy Prince.