Camilla’s unexpected guest at the coronation of King Charles III
Just like any major event, it is important to make sure that the guest list includes everyone necessary, and the Queen Consort must have had a say.
The coronation of King Charles III and his Queen is going to dominate headlines and news reports around the world on Saturday, and the guest list has been getting plenty of attention in the build up. One name that caught the eye was that of Andrew Parker Bowles, the ex-husband of Camilla, who will be in attendance at Westminster Abbey as a courtesy after twenty-two years together.
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He will be among the more than two thousand guests at the coronation and is a retired British Army officer, who maintains very close ties with the Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Parker Bowles in attendance
Despite separating from Camilla in 1995, after the extramarital relationship between the then Prince of Wales and Camilla became known (Princess Diana talked about there being “three in my marriage” during her famous interview with the BBC), the former couple continue to maintain a very good relationship and they often have lunch together.
Also among those invited to the occasion are other very important people to Andrew: the two children he had with Camilla, Thomas Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes (née Parker Bowles), and their grandchildren, who will be royal pages at the ceremony.
Andrew’s royal links beyond Camilla
Andrew Parker Bowles’ relationship with the royals is not limited to having been Camilla’s partner, as the retired official, in his days as a polo player (back in the seventies and eighties) shared a team with Charles, and was also the partner of Elizabeth II’s only daughter, Princess Anne.
Prince Harry in the cheap seats
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In fact, Parker Bowles is also godfather to Zara Tindall, the daughter of the princess (with whom she continues to maintain a great friendship) and niece of Charles III.
After divorcing Camilla in 1995, Andrew married Rosemary Pitman (née Dickinson) the following year, and together they also attended the nuptials of the then-Prince of Wales and Camilla on April 9, 2005. Just short of five years later, on January 10, 2010, Rosemary died at the age of 69, a victim of breast cancer.