Two years before she married her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall met him as Camilla Shand, which was her maiden name. Their engagement was quite crazy, so we bring you a story about how it went down.
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How Did Camilla And Andrew Meet?
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In 1965, at Camilla’s debutante party, she met Andrew Parker Bowles. Their first meeting was described in book The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked The Crown. The author of the book, Penny Junor, wrote: „He was 25 and a rather beautiful officer in the Household Cavalry; she was 17 but remarkably self-assured. Andrew went over to her and simply said, ‘Let’s dance.’ They danced and she fell in love.“
Camilla Met Prince Charles After She Dated Andrew
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Camilla and Andrew were dating, but it didn’t work out between them, so they broke up. In 1970, at a polo match, Camilla met Prince Charles. Their mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz, introduced them. Junor wrote in her book: „He [Prince Charles] loved the fact that she smiled with her eyes as well as her mouth, and laughed at the same silly things as he did. In short, he was very taken with her, and after that first meeting he began ringing her up.“ The two of them started dating. In 1973, when he had to go on the HMS Frigate with the Royal Navy, the couple broke up. Soon after, Camilla and Andrew reconnected.
How Did Camilla And Andrew Get To The Altar?
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Camilla’s father and Andrew’s brother wanted Camilla and Andrew to get married. According to Good Housekeeping, the two of them published an egagement in a local newspaper at the time Camilla and Andrew weren’t even engaged. Soon after, Andrew proposed to Camilla. On 4th July, 1973, the couple got married.
Prince Charles Was Devastated By Camilla and Andrew’s Marriage
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Junor explained: „It seemed to him particularly cruel, he wrote in one letter, that after ‘such a blissful, peaceful and mutually happy relationship’, fate had decreed that it should last a mere six months.“
Camilla And Andrew’s Children
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Camilla and Andrew have two children. On 18th December, 1974, she gave birth to their son Tom. Tom also has two children. He is a food critic, and has written cookbooks. He said: „I loved eating and could just about string a sentence together, so I thought I could write about food.“ On 1st January, 1978, Camilla and Andrew welcomed their daughter Laura into this world. She is four years younger than Tom. She is also married. Her husband is Harry Lopes, a former Calvin Klein model. She co-founds an art gallery in Belgravia.
Camilla And Andrew’s Divorce
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Camilla and Andrew were married for over 20 years. In 1995 they got divorced. Allegedly, Andrew was aware of Camilla’s affair with Prince Charles. Junor wrote in her book: „Andrew was in no position to complain; and when he discovered what was going on, he wisely didn’t make a fuss. Some would say that a part of him actually quite enjoyed the fact that his wife was sleeping with the future King; he might have felt differently had Charles been a traveling salesman.“
Source: cheatsheet.com
