Andrew Parker Bowles: The truth behind Princess Anne's relationship with Camilla’s ex-husband
LONDON, UK: As the daughter of Queen Elizabeth, the longest reigning monarch in modern history, Princess Anne’s life has always been under a scanner. Especially, her relationships. And Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ has given a peek into the bizarre relationship between Prince Charles, Anne, Camilla and Andrew Parker-Bowles. The entangled relationship featured in the third season shows the close bond between Anne and Andrew, who did have a relationship and shared many interests, such as horse riding and racing," according to biographer Sally Bedell Smith, who wrote ‘Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life’, reports Mirror.
Andrew was Catholic and “an unlikely candidate for marriage to a member of the royal family," said Smith, “Even when their romance eventually wound down, they remained lifelong friends." Anne even named him the godfather of her youngest child, Zara, who she shares with her ex-husband Captain Mark Phillips. Talking about their relationship, the author wrote, “Anne and Andrew started dating in June 1970,” when he was invited to Windsor to celebrate with the Royal Family. Andrew was already close with the royals and had served as a Page of Honour at The Queen's coronation in 1953, as per Mirror.
READ MORE
However, describing the narration of the series, the author said, “The Crown is a fictional portrayal of the Royal Family and it’s beautifully done, beautifully written, beautifully acted... but, because of that, audiences tend to take it at face value. A lot of it is made up.”
Smith told Vanity Fair in 2019, Charles did not meet Camilla until "the summer of 1972—long after Andrew and Anne’s romance was over. They were introduced by mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz, who told me about inviting them over for a drink at her flat in London. Prince Charles also told Jonathan Dimbleby that Lucia introduced them in 1972. Charles fell madly in love with Camilla, but to her it was a fling—he was the Prince of Wales. Meanwhile, Andrew was off in Ireland and Cyprus for six months."
Following this, Andrew married Camilla at The Guards Chapel in London on July 4, 1973, while Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey on November 14, 1973. However, the married life of Anne and Phillips couldn't sustain for long and they got separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992. Anne, then got married to Timothy Laurence in 1992, who stood by one another for nearly three decades now.
Camilla and Andrew divorced in 1995. Andrew tied knot with Rosemary Dickinson in 1996, but she died in 2010 after a prolonged cancer battle. Charles married Camilla in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on April 9, 2005.