King Charles III's great-great-grandfather's passionate romance with Camilla's great-grandmother revealed

Before the highly controversial love triangle of Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and Camilla Parker Bowles made national news, British history buffs already knew that this was a mere case of history repeating itself.

Town and Country shares that the present Queen Consort's great-great-grandmother Alice Keppel was widely known to be the favourite mistress of King Edward VII.

Who is Alice Keppel? When King Edward VII was 56 years old, Alice Keppel was only 29 and married to George Keppel. Camilla Parker's great-grandmother met the king through her society hostess events and started an affair with him that later on became an open secret that even the King's wife, Alexandra of Denmark, was privy to.

Alice was known not only for her beauty - she had large blue eyes, chestnut hair, a pale complexion, ample bosoms, and a small waist- but also for her extraordinary kindness, even to those who had wronged her.

Her daughter Violet described her, "She was luminous, resplendent... She not only had a gift of happiness, but she excelled in making others happy. She resembled a Christmas tree laden with presents for everyone."

Alice's husband, George, knew about the affair and reportedly even benefited from it. The king bestowed his favourite mistress with shares in a rubber company worth about €7 million today and promoted George to a highly lucrative job under Sir Thomas Lipton.

Alice was discreet with her relationship with the king and was a known mediator between him and Alexandra. Knowing that Alexandra liked collecting Faberge animals, she helped King Edward king commission a set for his Queen.

In fact, it was rumoured that even Alexandra of Denmark herself held her husband's mistress in high esteem, as she was reportedly the only one who had stood aside and helped Edward VII with some diplomatic matters, as Vanity Fair shared.

Alice and the king's romance reportedly never waned and continued until Edward VII's death in 1910 after several spells of bronchitis led to pulmonary emphysema.