“My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather’s mistress, so how about it?”

Those are the words that Camilla Shand (later Parker-Bowles) supposedly spoke to Prince Charles the first time she met him. I don’t know if it is true, but it ought to be if it isn’t, because it’s a great line.

Camilla’s great-grandmother was Alice Keppel, wife of Colonel Hon. George Keppel. Alice conducted several affairs with prominent men, always increasing her social status. Alice met Albert Edward, the future King Edward VII, in 1898. He was 56. She was 29. Despite a 28-year age difference, she became his mistress and remained so until his death.

It was said that Alice knew how to cure the King’s moods and she was an accomplished bridge player, which appealed greatly to Edward. Although he had another mistress, Agnes Keyser, at the same time as Alice, Alice was the one who kept him in good humour.

It was Alice that the king’s wife, Alexandra, allowed to visit his bedside when Edward lay dying. Although Alexandra disliked Keppel’s annual appearance at the Cowes regatta, she did appreciate her discretion. When Edward asked for her on his death bed, Alexandra reluctantly sent for Alice and allowed her to stay until Edward lost consciousness.

Although Edward had many mistresses it is clear that Alice filled more than just the role of mistress for him. The very fact that it was Alice that tamed his mood swings and who he asked to see before he died shows this. As for Alice, it is unknown how she felt about Edward. One of her daughters was to remark that the marriage of Alice and George Keppel was one that was a “companionship of love and laughter”.

It has been suggested that Alice’s daughter Sonia might have been Edward’s child. Sonia was Camilla’s great-grandmother. Were she Edward’s offspring, that would make Charles and Camilla second cousins, once removed. It seems unlikely though, as Edward never treated her as his child and she was said to greatly resemble George Keppel.

But even so, perhaps there is something about the connection that brings destiny into the marriage of Charles and Camilla.

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