Prince Charles rekindled his romance with Camilla Parker Bowles in 1999, after his turbulent marriage to Princess Diana ended, and they later remarried in 2005.
WATCH: How royal family feared Kate would ‘become second Camilla’
But now, it has been reported the Duke had another former flame in his youth, who royal expert Angela Mollard claimed was a genuine “rival” for Camilla.
Speaking on the ROYALS podcast, Angela claimed that, in his youth, Prince Charles had a friendship with Australian woman, Lady Dale Tryon, and the pair were “very close”.
She added: “They just adored each other. They saw each other all the time.
“She was what a lot of people call ‘the first time Camilla’ in that she was a real rival to Camilla.”
Angela then described how Charles apparently described Dale, who was married to one of his friends, as one of the only people who properly understood him.
“Perhaps it was just a really close friendship, who knows?” Angela said.
While it remains unclear whether Charles and Dale were ever anything more than just friends, Angela told listeners the pair were nonetheless very close.
The royal revelation comes after it was reported The Crown is set to show some controversial storylines from Charles‘ life and marriage to Princess Diana in its fourth season.
Actor Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles in the hit Netflix show, said producers are “going to pull the rug from under him” in the forthcoming fourth season.
Describing how the show has been “really nice” to Charles so far, Josh, 29, told Express.co.uk: “Well, it’s the Diana years, so we know that period so well.
“And, in terms of Charles himself, if series three was to make people feel empathy and sorry for him, I guess we’re going to pull the rug from under him in the next series.”
