Andrew parker bowles biography sampler

The Duchess—not to be confused with Danielle Steel’s novel of the same name—paints Camilla Parker Bowles in an entirely new (dare we say groundbreaking?) way. In the new book, out on April 10, royal biographer Penny Junor goes so far as to describe the Duchess as a GOOD! stepmother to Prince William and Prince Harry, and a kindhearted wife who transformed Prince Charles. To be sure, this is far cry from the Cinderella stepmother narrative, wherein Camilla is singlehandedly responsible for Princess Diana’s disastrous downfall.

Indeed, the Duchess of Cornwall has traditionally been heralded as the force that broke up Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s (already volatile) marriage—and Junor uses The Duchess to dispel such widely held misconceptions about their relationship and affair.

Junor has written contentious biographies about every senior member of the royal family, dubbed “The Firm.” Her first was a controversial book on Princess Diana, and after its release in 1983, Junor was deemed “vile” and “evil” for describing Princess Diana’s bulimia as a mental health problem. She found Princess Di so fascinating she revisited her in Charles and Diana: Portrait of Marriage in 1991.

This is the first in-depth biography of Camilla Parker Bowles ever, as opposed to the many, many stories written on the People’s Princess. But it’s not the only royal bio to deconstruct how the monarchy really lives. American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be released on April 24, and the buzzy Rebel Prince: The Power, Passion and Defiance of Prince Charles, which debuted on March 22, called Prince Charles pampered and self-pitying.

In contrast to Rebel Prince, The Duchess characterizes Camilla as sensitive, warm, funny and friendly, which isn’t exactly what the British press thinks. As far as shocking biographies go, its only scandal is making Camilla

On May 6, King Charles III will walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey to be crowned for his coronation. He will wear the imperial state crown—composed of 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and 4 rubies. He will hold a bejeweled scepter and, at one point, a golden orb. By his side? Queen Camilla, also adorned in full royal regalia.

It’s an upcoming scene that decades ago felt not just improbable but impossible: Charles was amid a messy divorce from Princess Diana, in large part spurred on by his long-term affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. (“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana famously said.) The British media called her the most hated woman in Britain. She regularly received angry mail, and for years, the public vehemently opposed the idea of her being named queen. Indeed, in The Crown season five, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’s controversial relationship acts as a central plot point. Here, a historical timeline of their relationship over the decades, from the beginning to the middle to the present day.

The Beginning: Sparks Fly—At the Wrong Time

1971:  According to Penny Junor's 2018 biography, The Duchess, Prince Charles and then Camilla Shand are introduced by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, at her apartment. “Now you two be very careful,” Santa Cruz jokes. “You got genetic antecedence.” (This was a reference to Alice Keppel, Camilla’s great-grandmother who was a mistress to Edward VII.) There is an immediate attraction between the pair, but any potential courtship is complicated by Camilla’s on-and-off relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles.

1972: Charles and Camilla first become romantically involved, with the young prince wooing her at polo matches in Windsor. They strengthen their relationship with weekends at Broadlands, the house of Charles’s uncle Louis Mountbatten. It is widely reported, h

Writing in her biography of the Duchess of Cornwall, The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair that Rocked the Crown, Penny Junor recounts that Diana often visited Camilla and Andrew’s country home, Bolehyde Manor in Wiltshire, when she first started dating Charles in 1980. It’s said that the two women got on well, with former nanny Diana even helping Camilla with her children, Tom and Laura.

Camilla was some 14 years older than Diana, so it’s unsurprising that the 19 year old looked to her for advice. In fact Camilla was a closer contemporary of Diana’s older sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who Charles also briefly dated. Taking on something of an older sisterly role herself, Junor states that Camilla was a support to Diana when both women watched Prince Charles compete at the Ludlow Races that year – a day that marked Charles and Diana’s public debut as a couple. Unused to the cameras, Camilla was no doubt a reassuring presence, with two women photographed chatting amicably as she stayed by Diana’s side.

Camilla maintained the friendship as Charles and Diana’s relationship became more serious. In Andrew Morton’s 1992 book Diana: Her True Story, Morton relates that soon after the couple announced their engagement in February 1981 and Diana moved into Clarence House, she found a note from Camilla on her bed inviting her to lunch. The women are said to have enjoyed a lively meeting, spent gossiping together and catching up. When Diana looked back on it retrospectively, however, she told Morton she later suspected Camilla was trying to find out when she might be able to see Charles alone.

It was around this time that the friendship between the two women began to sour. Morton recounts that Diana began to harbour suspicions about Charles and Camilla as early as during her engagement. The bride-to-be was upset when she found out that Charles had gifted Camilla a bracelet, shortly before the Royal Wedding was due to take place in July. It was engra

Queen of the United Kingdom since 2022

For other uses, see Queen Camilla (disambiguation).

"Camilla Parker Bowles" redirects here. For the former wife of Richard Parker Bowles, see Camilla Wood, Countess of Halifax.

Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III.

Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington in England and educated in England, Switzerland and France. In 1973, she married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles; they divorced in 1995. Camilla and Charles were romantically involved periodically, both before and during each of their first marriages. Their relationship was highly publicised in the media and attracted worldwide scrutiny. In 2005, Camilla married Charles in the Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised Anglican blessing at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. From their marriage until Charles's accession, she was known as the Duchess of Cornwall. On 8 September 2022, Charles became king upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, with Camilla as queen consort. Charles and Camilla's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.

Camilla carries out public engagements representing the monarch and is the patron of numerous charities and organisations. Since 1994, she has campaigned to raise awareness of osteoporosis, which has earned her several honours and awards. She has also campaigned to raise awareness of issues such as rape, sexual abuse, illiteracy, animal welfare and poverty.

Early life and education

Camilla Rosemary Shand was born on 17 July 1947 at King's College Hospital, London. Her family split their time between their country house—18th-century The Laines in Plumpton, East Sussex—and their London house in South Kensington. Her parents were British Army of