King Charles' Forgotten First Love Reportedly Introduced Him To Queen Camilla

King Charles III and Queen Camilla's relationship history is notorious, thanks to the couple engaging in an affair that Charles' former wife, the late Princess Diana, knew all about. However, the king has a dating history beyond just those two very famous women. In fact, it's long been reported that Charles' rumored first love is the one who connected him and Camilla. The love in question was Lucia Santa Cruz, the daughter of Victor Santa Cruz, the ambassador to Chile who was living and working in London. Details on Lucia and Charles' rumored relationship are sparse, but one of his cousins, Lady Elizabeth Anson, allegedly confirmed: "She was the first real love of his life," (via Fox News). Supposedly, after Lucia and Charles split, she became neighbors with Camilla and the two grew close.

Author Penny Junor's biography on the queen consort claimed that, in 1971, when Lucia learned that Camilla's then-boyfriend, and eventual ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles was a serial cheater, she introduced her to the future king, believing that Camilla was "just the girl" for Charles because she had "enormous sympathy, warmth and natural character," (via the Daily Mail). Naturally, they totally hit it off. However, Lucia joke about their ancestors since it's believed that the royal couple could actually be related due to King Edward VII's affair, and potential illegitimate daughter, with Alice Keppel, who is Camilla's great-grandmother. Other recollections about Lucia connecting Camilla and Charles are similar, but there are conflicting reports on Lucia and Charles' speculated romance.

In her book on Queen Camilla, royal expert Penny Junor denied that King Charles III and Lucia Santa Cruz's relationship was anything but platonic, clarifying that she was seeing someone else at the time. According to Junor, "She already had a serious boyfriend — Juan Luis Ossa Bulnes, now her husband, and Charles is godfather to their eldest son," (via the Daily Mail). Other outlets noted that Pablo Tarso Flecha de Lima was Santa Cruz's husband, and it's unclear if she was married twice or if misinformation has spread. A 1972 edition of "Life" magazine included a story about the rumored couple, citing that Charles was 23 and Santa Cruz was 27 when they were together, and sharing further conjecture about the romance between them. "Though he and Lucia have known each other for five years, they are more like chums than sweethearts, friends insist," the article detailed.

However, it also acknowledged that Charles couldn't marry Santa Cruz because he had to wed a Protestant due to his future gig making Charles the head of the Church of England. Others reckon Santa Cruz and Charles definitely dated. The "Charles and the Women Who Could Have Been Queen" documentary by TrueRoyaltyTV explained more about their potential relationship. Royal expert Tom Quinn declared that Santa Cruz was Charles' first real girlfriend and that it was love at first sight for him (via Fox News). The documentary also listed Charles' strict parameters for his future wife, and reiterated that Santa Cruz's Catholicism wouldn't have allowed her to be queen. 

The rumored love story between King Charles III and Lucia Santa Cruz seems to have ties to Trinity College Cambridge. Charles attended the hallowed institution from 1967 to 1970, the same years he may have been in a three-year relationship with Santa Cruz. At the time, she worked for the school's master, Lord "Rab" Butler, who was close with her father. Some believe Santa Cruz and Charles met at a dinner party in 1967. Others reckon Butler is the person who invited Santa Cruz and Charles to the dinner party, and that it happened in spring 1969. The year they met isn't the only conflicting detail about Charles and Santa Cruz's rumored relationship either. 

Some reported Santa Cruz as being three years older than Charles. Others claim that she was five years older. If the duo really did date at one point, it's generally assumed that it was serious enough for him to introduce her to the royal family. And, according to News.com.au, royal author Tina Brown divulged that Butler provided Santa Cruz and Charles with a key to the master's lodge at Trinity for private rendezvous. No matter if they were friends or more than that, she reportedly remained close with Charles and Camilla, and was supposedly friends with the late Princess Diana too. Santa Cruz died in 2019 but, without her, Camilla and Charles may have never met.