Inside Camilla’s 50th birthday bash, and what actually happened at the real life event

If there’s one thing The Crown will always do, it’s have us Google real life events to see if they were the same as how they were shown during the series. At the start of part one of season six, then Prince Charles is planning a 50th birthday party for the now Queen Camilla Parker Bowles, and the event causes a bit of drama.

Charles obviously wants the bash to go without a hitch, but the Queen isn’t keen on attending due to how that might look to the public, given that Charles and Camilla became a couple following an affair, and his divorce from Diana.

So, you might be wondering what the real event actually looked like, and who was in attendance.

Camilla arriving to her party in her real life, via Shutterstock

What actually happened at Camilla Parker Bowles’ 50th birthday party?

In 1997, Charles hosted a 50th birthday party for Camilla at his country home, Highgrove in Gloucestershire. Camilla Parker Bowles turned 50 on July 17th, and Diana was on holiday with William and Harry at the time.

The Crown had aspects of the vibe of the party pretty nailed, even down to the black dress and diamond necklace Camilla wore for the real life event. The party was hosted in a marquee on the grounds of the property, as per the show.

One major difference between what happened in the show and real life is that during Camilla’s real party, Charles reportedly didn’t give the emotional speech we saw. The Crown had him give a lengthy speech quoting Jane Austen’s Persuasion, but apparently that was all for the drama!

There was no speech and there was no cake at the real event. According to The Times, Camilla’s son Tom Parker Bowles was the sole speaker, and said: “Happy birthday, mummy,” before thanking Charles for hosting the party.

The real marquee at Highgrove, via Howells/Shutterstock

Did the Queen go to the birthday party?

One difference between the guest list on the show and what happened in real life is with Princess Margaret. The show had Princess Margaret supporting Charles and Camilla, and telling the Queen she should extend her support, too. However, in real life Margaret didn’t go to Camilla’s birthday party.

In fact, not a single member of the royal family attended the party in real life.

Part one of The Crown season six is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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