Andrew Parker Bowles

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Brigadier Andrew Henry Parker Bowles OBE (born 27 December 1939) is a retired English military officer. He is the former husband of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall (who is known as the Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland), who is now married to HRH The Prince of Wales.

Contents 1 Parents/religion 2 Marriages and children 3 Education and Career 4 Personal Life 5 References

[edit] Parents/religion

Andrew Parker Bowles' parents are Derek Henry Parker Bowles, a great-grandson of the 6th Earl of Macclesfield and Ann Parker Bowles, daughter of multimillionaire racehorse owner Sir Humphrey de Trafford. The de Traffords are notable recusants, that is, an old English family who have been Roman Catholic for hundreds of years.

His christening announcement in The Times lists his godparents as being Sir Humphrey de Trafford, the Marquess of Hartington, Miss Mary de Trafford and Miss Swinnerton-Dyer.^[1] Ann Parker Bowles was named a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

[edit] Marriages and children

Parker Bowles had a happy relationship with Princess Anne about 1970, but their potential marriage was unlikely because he is a Catholic; members of the British Royal Family who marry Catholics are automatically removed from the line of succession under the Act of Settlement 1701.^[2] He married Camilla Rosemary Shand in a Roman Catholic ceremony in 1973; formerly, she was a girlfriend of the Prince of Wales, so they had both dated royal siblings. They have two children, Tom and Laura, who were raised nominally Roman Catholic. Laura attended St. Mary's, Shaftesbury, a Catholic girls school in Dorset, while Tom attended Eton College.

Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles divorced in 1995. A year later he married his longtime companion, Rosemary Pitman. Rosemary (née Dickinson) was first married to Lieutenant-Colonel (John) Hugh Pitman, a descendant of Sir Isaac Pitman, inventor of the Pitman system of shorthand (stenography), and also the brother-in-law of Edmund Fermoy (5th Baron Fermoy), an uncle of Diana, Princess of Wales. Andrew and Rosemary Parker Bowles attended the marriage of Camilla and the Prince of Wales, which took place on April 9, 2005.

[edit] Education and Career

Parker Bowles was educated at the Benedictine Ampleforth College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) in 1960. He was aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Bernard Fergusson, in about 1965. He was then Adjutant Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) 1967-1969. The regiment became The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) 1969, and he was the Adjutant of The Blues and Royals 1969-1970. Parker Bowles was promoted to major 31 December 1971.

He was squadron leader of "B" squadron in 1972 on Exercise "Motorman" in Ulster. Later he was Senior Military Liaison Officer to Christopher Soames, Baron Soames, when he was Governor of Rhodesia during its transition to the majority rule state of Zimbabwe in 1979-1980. He was staff qualified (sq), and became a Lieutenant-Colonel 30 June 1980.

In 1981-1983 he was Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. From 1987 to 1990 he was Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding the Household Cavalry and Silver Stick in Waiting to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On 30 June 1990 he was promoted to brigadier, and was director of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1991-1994. He retired in 1994.

[edit] Personal Life

Parker Bowles is said to enjoy warm relations with his ex wife.

The best-selling author of the Rutshire Chronicles series of romance novels, Jilly Cooper, has acknowledged that the leading character of Rupert Campbell-Black is based upon Parker Bowles.

[edit] References