Andrew Parker Bowles is best known to the public as Queen Camilla’s first husband, but that is only one part of his story. He is a retired British Army officer who spent 34 years in the Household Cavalry. He was a page at the 1953 coronation, an amateur jockey in the Grand National, and once a boyfriend of Princess Anne. Now 86, the former cavalry officer is still a close friend of the royal family, and in recent years he has stood in for the Princess Royal at memorial services.
Andrew Parker Bowles Biography
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Andrew Henry Parker Bowles |
| Nickname | APB |
| Date of Birth | 27 December 1939 |
| Place of Birth | Berkshire, England |
| Age | 86 |
| Nationality | British |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Profession/Occupation | Retired British Army officer |
| Years Active | 1960 to 1994 (military service) |
| Education | Ampleforth College; Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
| Field | Military, Household Cavalry, equestrian sport |
| Spouse/Partner | Camilla Shand (m. 1973; div. 1995); Rosemary Pitman (m. 1996; died 2010) |
| Dating/Relationship Status | In a relationship with Anne Robinson |
| Children | Tom Parker Bowles, Laura Lopes |
| Parents | Derek Henry Parker Bowles, Dame Ann Parker Bowles DCVO (née de Trafford) |
| Siblings | Eldest of four children |
| Notable Works | Subject of Lucian Freud’s painting The Brigadier |
| Awards/Honors | OBE (Military Division), Officer of the Order of St John, Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct |
Early Life and Family Background
Born Into an Old Catholic Family
Andrew Henry Parker Bowles was born on 27 December 1939 in Berkshire, England, the eldest of four children. The family lived at Donnington Castle House. On both sides, his family had long links to land, horses and the Windsors.
His mother was Dame Ann Parker Bowles DCVO, née de Trafford. The de Trafford family were Roman Catholic recusants, meaning they kept their faith for centuries when it was legally risky to do so. Her father, Sir Humphrey de Trafford, 4th Baronet, was a well-known racehorse owner. That Catholic faith later shaped some of the biggest moments in Andrew’s life.
His father, Derek Henry Parker Bowles, came from a family connected to the Earldom of Macclesfield. Through this line, Andrew is a great-grandson of the 6th Earl of Macclesfield, and his family tree goes back to Thomas Parker, the first Earl.
A Royal Godmother From the Start
His royal links started at birth. Biographer Sally Bedell Smith notes that Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was one of his godparents. That detail explains a lot. Andrew did not join royal circles as an adult. He grew up among them.
His parents were close friends of the royals, and the families moved in the same racing and country-house circles in Berkshire and Surrey. Andrew’s lifelong friendships with royal family members started in that world.
Education and the 1953 Coronation
Ampleforth College and Sandhurst
Andrew was educated at Ampleforth College, a Benedictine boarding school in North Yorkshire. Many Catholic families sent their sons there. The school’s discipline and religious life matched his family’s background.
After Ampleforth he went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where British Army officers are trained. He graduated from Sandhurst in 1960 and moved straight into the cavalry.
A Schoolboy Page at Westminster Abbey
His first public role came in 1953, when he was 13. Andrew served as a ceremonial page to Lord Simonds, the Lord Chancellor, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Pages at a coronation carry trains and attend senior officials during a very long ceremony. Being chosen showed how much the court trusted his family. Seventy years later he also received the King Charles III Coronation Medal, which few people can pair with a role at the previous coronation.
Military Career With the Household Cavalry
From Royal Horse Guards to The Blues and Royals
Andrew was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards in 1960. The regiment was known as “The Blues.” In 1969 it merged with The Royal Dragoons to form The Blues and Royals, and he made the move with his regiment.
He was posted abroad early in his career. In 1965 he went to New Zealand as aide-de-camp to the Governor-General, Sir Bernard Fergusson. After that he served as Adjutant and was promoted to major on 31 December 1971.
Operational Service in Ulster, Cyprus and Rhodesia
In 1972 he took part in Operation Motorman in Northern Ireland, the large operation to clear barricaded “no-go” areas in Ulster. He also served with the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus, known as UNFICYP.
His most important posting came in 1979 to 1980, when he was Senior Military Liaison Officer to Lord Soames, the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. That period covered the transition to an independent Zimbabwe. The work needed a mix of soldiering and diplomacy, and he was appointed OBE for it.
Command and the 1982 Hyde Park Bombing
He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 30 June 1980 and served as Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment from 1981 to 1983. While he was in command, the IRA carried out the Hyde Park and Regent’s Park bombings in July 1982.
The bomb in Hyde Park hit a troop of The Blues and Royals on their way to the Changing of the Guard, killing soldiers and horses. Andrew went to the scene and directed the response, partly on foot. One of the injured horses, Sefton, survived serious wounds and became a national symbol of resilience after the London bomb attack.
Silver Stick, Brigadier and Retirement
From 1987 to 1990 he was Colonel commanding the Household Cavalry and Silver Stick in Waiting. This is a ceremonial court role that puts the holder close to the monarch on state occasions.
He was promoted to brigadier on 30 June 1990. His last post, from 1991 to 1994, was Director of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, which oversees the Army’s animals. For a lifelong horseman, it was a natural final role. He retired in 1994.
| Period | Role |
|---|---|
| 1960 | Commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards |
| 1965 | Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of New Zealand |
| 1972 | Operation Motorman, Northern Ireland |
| 1979 to 1980 | Senior Military Liaison Officer, Rhodesia |
| 1981 to 1983 | Commanding Officer, Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment |
| 1987 to 1990 | Colonel commanding the Household Cavalry, Silver Stick in Waiting |
| 1991 to 1994 | Director, Royal Army Veterinary Corps |
Honours, Medals and Titles
Medals and Decorations
His medals follow his career. Each one is tied to a specific deployment or royal event.
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953)
- General Service Medal (Northern Ireland)
- United Nations Medal (UNFICYP, Cyprus)
- Rhodesia Medal and Zimbabwean Independence Medal (1980)
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (Military Division)
- Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct
- Officer of the Order of St John
- King Charles III Coronation Medal (2023)
He also holds an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Veterinary College, which recognises his work with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
Does Andrew Parker Bowles Have a Title?
People often ask this, and the answer is no. Andrew Parker Bowles has no royal or peerage title. “Brigadier” is his military rank, and he earned it over 34 years in the British Army.
His former wife became Queen Camilla, but that gave him no royal status. Some online sources even get his honours wrong, for example calling him a CBE. The correct honour is OBE.
Relationship With Princess Anne
A Royal Romance in the Early 1970s
Andrew and Princess Anne dated in the early 1970s. Many accounts trace the start to Ascot week in June 1970. They shared a love of horses, which was the centre of both their lives.
At the time Anne was fourth in line to the throne, and the relationship was serious enough that people talked about an engagement.
Why Marriage Was Ruled Out
His faith was the problem. Andrew was a Roman Catholic, and under the law of the time a royal in the line of succession who married a Catholic lost their place in it. That made him an unlikely candidate to be Anne’s husband.
The relationship ended, and in 1973 Anne married Captain Mark Phillips. Anne and Phillips divorced in 1992. She married Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence the same year.
Five Decades of Friendship
The breakup did not end the friendship. Andrew and Anne have stayed close for more than five decades. He is godfather to her daughter, Zara Tindall, who was born in 1981.
Season 3 of Netflix’s The Crown dramatised the romance. That episode introduced the story to viewers who had never heard of it.
Marriage to Camilla Shand
The 1973 Wedding at the Guards’ Chapel
Andrew dated Camilla Shand on and off before they married on 4 July 1973 at the Guards’ Chapel in London. It was a Roman Catholic ceremony. Princess Anne attended, and Lady Emma Herbert, one of Andrew’s goddaughters, was a bridesmaid.
Camilla had earlier been a girlfriend of Charles, Prince of Wales. Andrew already knew Charles well from polo and court life.
Children: Tom and Laura
The couple had two children:
- Tom Parker Bowles, born 18 December 1974, a food writer educated at Eton College. King Charles is his godfather.
- Laura Lopes, born 1 January 1978, educated at St Mary’s School, Shaftesbury, who later became an art curator.
The children were raised Catholic, and the family lived first at Bolehyde Manor and later at Middlewick House near Corsham in Wiltshire.
The 1995 Divorce
Both partners had extramarital affairs during the marriage, and Camilla’s relationship with Charles became public in the early 1990s. The couple divorced in 1995.
The divorce was amicable, which surprised many people given the publicity. Andrew and Camilla remained friends and still attend family events together. In 2005 he was a guest when she married Charles.
Second Marriage to Rosemary Pitman
A Quiet Wedding in 1996
In 1996 Andrew married Rosemary Alice Pitman, née Dickinson, who had been a long-time companion. She was born on 17 June 1940 and had three sons from her previous marriage to Lt Col John Hugh Pitman.
This marriage was much more private than his first. They kept a low profile in the Wiltshire countryside.
Rosemary’s Death in 2010
Rosemary died on 10 January 2010, aged 69, from complications of cancer. Her funeral was held at St Aldhelm’s Catholic Church in Malmesbury.
A memorial service took place at the Guards’ Chapel in March 2010. Charles and Camilla attended, which showed how close Andrew’s two families had become.
Relationship With Anne Robinson
Love Later in Life
In 2023 it was reported that Andrew, then 83, was dating television presenter Anne Robinson, then 79. The Weakest Link host had been a frequent visitor to his home, and the pair had been seeing each other for about a year.
Robinson owns a 17th-century barn in the Cotswolds, so they live fairly close to each other.
“Mind Your Own Business”
When asked about the relationship, Robinson answered with a simple “Yes” and then joked that people should mind their own business. That is typical of her on-screen style.
Reports said the King and Camilla backed the match and spent time with the couple. Few people still live this comfortably in the same circles as their former spouse.
Friendship With King Charles
Polo Partners in the 1970s
Andrew and Charles go back to the 1970s, when they played polo together and against each other. Andrew rode with the Prince of Wales’s polo team, and his skill in the saddle earned him a place in the royal set.
You might expect the friendship to have ended once Charles and Camilla became a couple. It did not.
Ties That Run Through the Family
Today the two men are connected in several ways. Charles is godfather to Andrew’s son Tom. Andrew is godfather to Zara, the King’s niece. And on 9 April 2005, Andrew attended the wedding of Charles and Camilla.
This network of godparents and old friendships explains why Andrew still appears at royal events today.
Standing In for Princess Anne
Representing the Princess Royal
In 2025, Andrew took on a more formal role. He represented Princess Anne at the memorial for Ian Balding, the racehorse trainer who trained horses for the late Queen and was the father of broadcaster Clare Balding. Balding died aged 87.
When a royal cannot attend a service, a trusted representative goes in their place. For Anne to choose her ex-boyfriend from five decades earlier shows how close their friendship still is.
A Second Time at the Guards’ Chapel
About two months later he stepped in for her a second time, at the memorial for Field Marshal Lord Guthrie at the Guards’ Chapel. It was the same chapel where he had married Camilla.
He was also reported at a thanksgiving service at Hereford Cathedral for Sir Thomas Dunne. These appearances make him a steady presence in the wider royal circle. Royal watchers noted that he still did this while physically able in his mid-80s.
Horse Racing, Polo and Equestrian Life
Riding in the 1969 Grand National
Before his army career took over, Andrew was a keen amateur jockey. In 1969 he rode The Fossa in the Grand National at Aintree and finished 11th.
Anyone who knows the Aintree fences knows that finishing the course at all is an achievement, especially for an amateur.
Badminton and the Eventing World
Horses have been part of his life ever since. He is a regular at the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire. At one reception, Queen Camilla greeted him warmly, and he was seen chatting with Lucinda Green, the six-time Badminton winner.
Polo, racing, cavalry duty and veterinary command all centre on horses. His military and personal lives were closely linked by them.
Portrayals in Media and Pop Culture
The Inspiration for Rupert Campbell-Black
Andrew is widely seen as part of the inspiration for Rupert Campbell-Black, the dashing hero of Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles. The character is a handsome, horse-mad charmer from the English upper classes, which fits Andrew’s reputation.
The Crown, Whatever Love Means and Lucian Freud
He has been portrayed on screen more than once:
| Year | Work | Portrayal |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Whatever Love Means (TV film) | Played by Simon Wilson |
| 2019 | The Crown, Season 3 | Played by Andrew Buchan |
He also posed for Lucian Freud. The painting The Brigadier, begun in 2003, shows him in uniform with his tunic unbuttoned. It sold at Christie’s in 2015 for $34.89 million, making it one of the most valuable portraits of a living British soldier.
Jilly Cooper’s Memorial Service in January 2026
Paying Respects at Southwark Cathedral
On 30 January 2026, Andrew attended the memorial service for Dame Jilly Cooper at Southwark Cathedral in London. The novelist died in October 2025, aged 88, from injuries after a fall.
Queen Camilla also attended, and the former couple were pictured arriving separately. Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes were also there.
A Fitting Farewell
The occasion had a personal side. Cooper’s best-loved hero was partly based on Andrew, and the woman who inspired so much of the horse-and-country world in her books was being remembered by many of the people who lived in it.
Grandchildren
Tom’s Family
Tom Parker Bowles married Sara Buys on 10 September 2005. They have two children, Lola Rosalind and Freddy. The couple later separated.
Laura’s Family
Laura married Harry Lopes on 6 May 2006. They have three children: Eliza and twins Gus and Louis. Andrew’s five grandchildren are also step-grandchildren of King Charles, which links the families again.
Homes and Godchildren
Wiltshire Country Houses
Andrew has always lived in the countryside. With Camilla he lived at Bolehyde Manor and later at Middlewick House near Corsham in Wiltshire. Both homes had space for horses and dogs.
His Godchildren
His best-known godchildren are Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter, and Lady Emma Herbert, who was a bridesmaid at his 1973 wedding. Both reflect his close friendships with royal and aristocratic families.
FAQs
How Old Is Andrew Parker Bowles?
Andrew Parker Bowles was born on 27 December 1939, so he is 86 years old. He turns 87 in December 2026.
Is Andrew Parker Bowles Still Friends With Queen Camilla?
Yes. Their 1995 divorce was amicable, and they have stayed friends. They attend family occasions together, including their grandchildren’s milestones, and he attended her 2005 wedding to King Charles.
Why Didn’t Andrew Parker Bowles Marry Princess Anne?
He was a Roman Catholic. At the time, a royal in the line of succession who married a Catholic lost their place in it. Their romance ended in the early 1970s, but they have stayed close friends.
Who Is Andrew Parker Bowles Dating Now?
He is in a relationship with television presenter Anne Robinson. The relationship was confirmed in 2023, after they had been seeing each other for about a year.
What Was Andrew Parker Bowles’ Military Rank?
He retired from the British Army in 1994 as a brigadier. He served 34 years with the Household Cavalry and ended his career as Director of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
Who Played Andrew Parker Bowles in The Crown?
Andrew Buchan played him in Season 3 of Netflix’s The Crown, which shows his romance with Princess Anne and his marriage to Camilla Shand.
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