When it comes to royal relationships, there is none quite as controversial as that of Queen Camilla and King Charles.
From a six-month-fling in the 1970s to a long-running affair in the 1980s that finally led to the dissolution of both their marriages, the lovebirds just couldn’t leave one another alone.
But there was a time when Camilla (nee Shand) was in love with another, retired British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles.
Scroll on as we revisit every aspect of their relationship for better (and for worse).
Is Camilla’s first husband still alive?
Yes, Queen Camilla’s first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles is still alive and is 85 years old. He was born on December 27, 1939.
Like his future wife, Andrew was connected to royalty through the Queen Mother (who was also his godmother) and was even a page at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
What age did Camilla marry her first husband?
The pair first crossed paths in the late 1960s and then dated for extended periods for several years.
Frustrated by his lack of commitment, Derek Parker Bowles (his father) and Bruce Shand (Camilla’s father) reportedly forced Andrew’s hand by publishing an engagement notice in The Times, leading to him proposing to Camilla after seven years of on-and-off dating.
The couple were wed on July 4, 1973, at Guards Chapel in Wellington Barracks. They tied the knot in front of high society that included The Queen Mother, Princess Anne, and Princess Margaret.
She was 25 years old at the time.
Did Camilla have children with her first husband?
They later welcomed two children into the world, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles, who became the godson of his future stepfather, King Charles.
The managing editor of Majesty Magazine, Joe Little, told Hello! that he attributed Camilla and Andrew’s amicable split to their children.
“I think, like many divorced couples, it’s down to the children,” he said.
“The children were teenagers, I think, at the time that Andrew and Camilla separated, or rather divorced, but nevertheless, they maintained this amicable relationship because of the children, and that’s continued to the present day.”
Since then, they have become the grandparents of Eliza Lopes, Gus Lopes, Louis Lopes, Freddy Parker Bowles and Lola Parker Bowles.
What happened to Camilla’s first marriage?
After only a few years of marriage, Camilla reportedly began engaging in an extramarital affair with the then-Prince Charles.
Though he was also married himself, the royal continued to see Camilla.
And despite their attempts to keep their secret relationship on the down low, their affair was ultimately exposed in 1992 after private conversations between the duo from 1989 were leaked to the press.
While Charles and Diana announced their divorce that same year, it took an additional three years for Camilla and Andrew’s divorce to be finalized in 1995 – the same year Diana famously told BBC’s Panorama that “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
It has also been reported that Andrew engaged in extra-marital affairs of his own, including with several of Camilla’s friends and, allegedly, even his future wife, Rosemary Pitman.
Are Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles still friends?
Despite all of the scrutiny after their divorce, the pair have remained friendly.
In 2024, their son Tom told PEOPLE that they’re still “great friends”.
“It’s a maturity that is a great thing if, despite a marriage sometimes not working, you can keep it together for the sake of the children and the sake of each other, then it’s a very good thing,” he said.
Camilla’s friend Lady Lansdowne also explained their relationship dynamic in an interview with The Times.
“Everybody loves Andrew; he’s a real charmer, but he’s always terribly misbehaving,” she said.
“Andrew will ring her up and tell her when she’s got something wrong, and she’ll ring him up and say when he’s misbehaving.
“Through adversity, they’ve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.”
Publicly, the pair have been spotted at events together, such as the Royal Ascot.
Andrew also attended Camilla’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Joe also described their friendship as “very natural” and “not forced”.
The editor also told Hello! that Charles was also fine with their friendship, because if not, they would not be seen publicly together.
Who is Andrew Parker Bowles in a relationship with?
After confirming he and Camilla had divorced in January 1995 due to a “private matter” and the fact that throughout his marriage, he and his now ex-wife “led completely separate lives,” Andrew Parker Bowles married Rosemary Pitman in 1996.
They had known each other through Rosemary’s first husband, Hugh, whom Andrew had served in the same military regiment.
Sadly, in January 2010, after almost 15 years of marriage, Rosemary passed away at the age of 68 after a four-year battle with cancer.
In support of Andrew, Camilla attended her memorial service.
As of May 2024, Andrew Parker-Bowles is dating British TV presenter Anne Robinson. The pair reportedly met in early 2023 at a lunch hosted by mutual friends.
Did Princess Anne have a relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles?
It has been reported that during an “off” phase of his relationship with Camilla, Andrew dated Princess Anne, beginning in June 1970.
Ultimately, their romantic entanglement never became anything serious as Princess Anne was forbidden from marrying a Catholic due to her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, being the head of the Church of England.
While it has been reported that both Anne and Andrew engaged in extra-marital affairs with one another during their respective marriages, it has never been confirmed.
Regardless, the pair are still firm friends and are regularly photographed together at horse racing events where Andrew shows his support for his equestrian god-daughter Zara Tindall.
