Royal fans will remember that Camilla Shand and Andrew Parker-Bowles' relationship could not be described as simple. The young people knew each other from their youth, sometimes converging, then parting, but the Shands have always believed that Parker Bowles was a great party for their daughter, despite the reputation of a "party-goer" and female company. Camilla herself had serious feelings for the young man, so when she realized that she would not succeed in anything serious with the Prince of Wales, the decision to marry Andrew seemed right to her. The prince's heart was broken, but both Charles's and Camilla's parents were happy (see also: Charles's Broken Heart: How the Prince reacted to the news of Camilla's wedding to another).
According to numerous testimonies, Miss Shand hoped that after the wedding her chosen one would settle down, but there were no miraculous changes in the behavior of her newly-made husband. Andrew Parker-Bowles continued to enjoy the company of women, and his legal wife, of course, did not like it. The Parker-Bowles' family troubles are detailed in the new Channel 5 documentary, Camilla: The Story of a Lover.
During the show, the editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, mentioned a “string of girls” who “were happy to be in his 'stable'”. "[Camilla] knew his reputation, she knew what he was, but I think she thought she could tame him," said the expert. Broderick Munro-Wilson, Camille's childhood friend, explained what happened between the couple: “I definitely witnessed that Andrew Parker-Bowles was a popular young man, and no doubt, almost every [woman surrounded] at one stage or another there was a connection [with him]”.
All this infuriated Mrs Parker Bowles. There were persistent rumors that when she discovered that her husband's car was parked outside her friend's house, she intended to vent her anger through the car. “Before they got married, there was one case when she was walking home late at night and saw Andrew's car parked outside one of her friends’s apartment and understood why she was standing there,” said royal biographer Penny Junor. “So she wrote a very rude message with lipstick on the windshield of the car and flattened her tires. So she wasn't a rag at all!"
During the first years of marriage, Camilla remained faithful to her husband, acting in accordance with the unspoken rules of high society, which required the wife to devote herself to her husband before the birth of heirs. Later, when the marriage of the Prince of Wales also gave a serious crack in the fifth year of their marriage, the ex-lovers reunited, finding comfort in each other's company. However, it took Charles and Camilla many more years to divorce their first spouses and legalize their relationship. Interestingly, the woman's parents were initially not enthusiastic about the candidacy of the Prince of Wales as their daughter's spouse, but in the end it was Major Shand who convinced Charles to marry Camilla (read also: Unwanted Son-In-Law: Why Camilla's Parents Didn't Want Her to Marry Charles).
Photo: Getty Images
Related materials
- Camilla, Charles and Diana: Another Truth About the Love Triangle
- Far from the throne: how the fate of the children of Camilla Parker Bowles
- History repeats itself: how Camilla Parker-Bowles's great-grandmother became the mistress of the British king
- Wedge wedge: can mutual betrayal save marriage