Signs Camilla And Andrew Parker Bowles' Marriage Wasn't Going To Last
Before she met King Charles and embarked on a romantic relationship that would lead to betrayal, love, marriage, and more, Camilla Parker Bowles was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, the father of her two children. Camilla had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Andrew for five years when she was introduced to Charles in 1972 by a mutual friend.
Per E! Online, Camilla and Andrew were introduced at a party that Camilla's mother had thrown for her daughter's official coming out season. Camilla was in a relationship at the time, but the pair hit it off. They were officially a couple in 1966, though that didn't get in Andrew's way when it came to seeking out additional romantic partners.
Here is a look at the complicated life shared by Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles and glimpses into the signs that things between the couple were probably always doomed to fail.
Andrew Parker Bowles wasn't faithful to Camilla Parker Bowles before their marriage
Several royal historians and authors, including Penny Junor, have noted that while Camilla Parker Bowles was committed to Andrew Parker Bowles when they got married, it seems that he was less committed to her. In October 2017, Junor told The Sunday Times as much quite directly. She commented, "[Camilla] was passionately in love with [Andrew] but he was a cad, he was bonking other people, some of her friends."
Junor goes on to insist that Andrew's behavior was part of the reason why Camilla subsequently expressed interest in King Charles. As Junor puts it, Camilla believed that Andrew was engaged with a number of women, including Charles' sister Princess Anne, and she thought having a brief relationship with Charles would be enough to get Andrew's attention.
Of course, one thing led to another, and the relationship became much more than something short-lived. When Camilla ultimately married Andrew while Charles was stationed at sea as part of his military service, Charles was devastated (via Marie Claire).
Camillagate exposed Camila Parker Bowles' affair with King Charles to the world
Numerous sources have insisted throughout the years that Andrew Parker Bowles was fully aware of his wife's relationship with King Charles, even the parts of the relationship that happened while Andrew and Camilla Parker Bowles were married.
While speaking in the documentary "Prince Charles' Other Mistress," royal historian Christopher Wilson explained that Andrew was well aware of what was happening. As Wilson put it, "In 1979, there was very little pretense about the intensity of the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla. Most of the week he would be staying at Bolehyde Manor, sometimes Andrew Parker Bowles would come home for the weekend and Prince Charles would stay" (via The Daily Express).
The affair continued in 1992 when Charles and Camilla endured their now-infamous "tampongate" or "Camillagate" scandal. A late-night phone call between Charles and Camilla was recorded, and the transcription was eventually publicly published. The public was introduced to the affair between Charles and Camilla, and while the scandal has not been counted as the real reason why Camilla and Andrew divorced, there was plenty of embarrassment for everyone involved (via Birmingham Live).
King Charles is godfather to one of Camilla Parker Bowles' children
To say that Andrew Parker Bowles and Camilla Parker Bowles were close to King Charles before he ascended the throne is an understatement. In fact, Charles was so close to the family that he was even named godfather to one of the pair's children, which is a curious role for someone who was in a relationship with one half of a couple to occupy and could have indicated that things weren't going to last between Andrew and Camilla.
Andrew and Camilla have two children together, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles. Tom was born in December 1974, and Charles was named his godfather following his arrival. Funnily, Tom now has Charles as his godfather and his stepfather. As reported by Town & Country, both Tom and Lopes have largely stayed out of the spotlight, though Tom is the author of quite a few cookbooks and has worked as a restaurant and food critic for The Mail On Sunday.
In 2019, Tom spoke to Town & Country about what the holiday season is like with his family. As he told the outlet, the family spends the holiday together as much as possible. He said, "My mother's up with my stepfather, and she comes down on Christmas Day straight after the Queen's speech. So it's very much a family thing."
Andrew Parker Bowles had a mistress he wanted to marry
Camilla Parker Bowles and Andrew Parker Bowles divorced in 1995, and Andrew remarried the following year. In February 1996, Andrew told British papers that he intended to marry Rosemary Pitman. The Associated Press noted that it was believed that Andrew and Pitman had been living together since the summer of 1995 and that Pitman had been a source of strength for Andrew after King Charles admitted to having an affair with Camilla in an interview widely televised in 1994.
It's believed that Pitman was Andrew's mistress for several years before his divorce and their own marriage (via Showbiz Cheatsheet). Pitman entered the marriage with three children, and despite the somewhat complicated links between the two couples, she and Andrew were on good enough terms with Charles and Camilla that they were invited to Queen Elizabeth's home Sandringham "a number of occasions" (via The Telegraph).
Camilla Parker Bowles and King Charles spent a lot of time together
Camilla Parker Bowles spent a lot of time with King Charles while she was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, and some would say perhaps the two spent too much time together for two people who were married to other people. Camilla and Charles had already been running in the same circles since her debut in 1967; at the time, as The Guardian put it, "They shared common interests and he was apparently smitten. They had a covert relationship, occasionally snapped by the press during furtive trysts at polo matches."
Charles and Camilla began their relationship again in 1980, a year before he married Princess Diana but after the two had been introduced (via The Guardian). Indeed, Diana infamously suspected her husband-to-be of having an affair with Camilla ahead of their wedding; an accusation that he denied. Diana found a piece of jewelry that bore the initials of the names that Camilla and Charles called one another, but Charles denied it was for Camilla. As noted by Esquire, Camilla still wears the piece now.
Andrew Parker Bowles dated Princess Anne while Camilla Parker Bowles pursued him
Perhaps one of the most telling signs that things between Andrew Parker Bowles and Camilla Parker Bowles might not stand the test of time is the fact that Andrew was involved in his own royal romance with Princess Anne, the younger sister of King Charles, while he and Camilla were also in a relationship. As noted by E! Online, the relationship between Andrew and Anne began in 1972, about two years before he and Camilla would ultimately marry.
Some authors and historians have insisted that Camilla really began to date King Charles simply because Andrew had his own relationship with Anne and Camilla hoped to make him jealous. Author Sarah Bradford writes in her book Diana that a friend close to the royal family insisted, "Princess Anne was in love with Parker Bowles, Camilla was in love with Andrew, Charles was in love with Camilla, Camilla was having some of it but she was also potty about Andrew—all this intrigue was going on" (via Cosmopolitan).