Camilla gives TV’s Queen of Mean Anne Robinson her royal seal of approval for dating her ex-husband and has even ‘joked about a double date’ with the King
Queen Camilla has given Anne Robinson her royal seal of approval for her dating her ex-husband – and has even ‘joked about going on a double date’ with King Charles.
The former Weakest Link presenter, 79, has been in a secret relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles for more than a year.
Anne, who has the TV nickname ‘The Queen of Mean’, is said to have found love with the twice-married retired Army brigadier, 83, after being introduced by a mutual friend.
According to insiders, one of their first dates was a dinner party attended by ex Prime Minister David Cameron, with Andrew able to ‘poke fun’ at the presenter, who is known for her sharp tongue.
Although the couple’s romance is said to have been an ‘open secret’ in upper circles, Camilla has only known about it for a few weeks, according to The Sun.
Camilla meets Anne Robinson in 2013 at the Man Booker Prize for Fiction at The Guildhall
The Queen Consort divorced brigadier Andrew Parker Bowels (left) in 1995 but she remains fond of the father of their two children and has now apparently given her royal seal of approval to his new relationship
Camilla married Charles ten years after divorcing Andrew in 1995 but she has remained fond of the father of their two grown-up children – Masterchef food critic Tom Parker Bowles and art curator Laura Lopes.
A source told The Sun Camilla and Charles have found the media coverage of Anne and Andrew’s coupling ‘hilarious’.
‘Camilla is very supportive about the whole thing and found out a few weeks ago. They’ve been joking about going on a double date,’ the source told The Sun.
‘After all, Anne is a strong, lively, opinionated woman. If anyone can crack royal circles, it’s her.’
When asked about their romance, Anne, who has also been married twice, hit back: ‘It’s none of your business’.
Yesterday an insider ironically pointed out Anne went to ‘boarding school, her father got a double first and she holidayed for part of the summer at The Carlton in Cannes’ – when she wasn’t working behind her mother’s stall.
Both Anne and Andrew have been married twice.
Anne married journalist Charles Wilson in 1968. In 1970 the couple had a daughter, Emma Wilson, who became a British radio disc jockey. Their marriage broke down in 1973.
The presenter went on to marry journalist John Penrose in 1980, but they split in 2007 and announced they were planning to divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.
Andrew, meanwhile, divorced Camilla in 1995 after 22 years of marriage, but remain close friends – despite a complicated history which included infidelity on both parts.
The relationship between the former Countdown host, 79, and the Army brigadier, 83, was reportedly an ‘open secret’ among upper circles of society, (pictured at Ascot in June)
Anne has been in a secret relationship with Queen Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles for a year, according to reports
Andrew divorced Camilla after 22 years of marriage, but remain close friends – despite a complicated history which included infidelity on both parts (pictured in 2020)
Andrew played polo on the same team as King Charles. Here he is pictured (right) on a royal visit to Kenya in 1971 with Charles
Anne is best known as the host of The Weakest Link, which she presented from 2000 to 2017
Camilla was famously Charles’s mistress during her marriage to Andrew, while the latter is described by friends as having been ‘very naughty with women’ throughout.
Andrew first met Camilla in the late 1960s and they dated on and off for several years before marrying in 1973.
According to Andrew’s cousin John Bowes Lyon, the couple were pressured into making the commitment when both their fathers published an engagement notice for them in The Times.
Andrew and Camilla divorced in 1995, saying in a statement that ‘throughout our marriage we have always tended to follow rather different interests, but in recent years we have led completely separate lives.’
The following year, he married Rosemary Pitman. They were together until Rosemary passed away in 2010 of cancer, aged 69.
At the time of her death it was reported that Camilla was ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.
Andrew was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in April 2005, attending their service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Anne previously revealed back in 2017 how she had quit dating app Tinder an hour after getting it.
The former Weakest Link presenter complained potential matches on the app offered ‘slim pickings’ and added she didn’t want to date a ‘bald man with a moustache’.
Camilla has maintained a strong and close friendship with Andrew – and he even had a special invitation on the guest list to the Coronation in May.
The pair, who were married for more than two decades, have two children; food critic and writer Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes
The pair dated on and off for several years before marrying at the Guards’ Chapel in 1973
Andrew Parker Bowles and Camilla were married for 22 years and had two children, Tom and Laura, before they divorced in 1995
Once, regarded as something of a ladies man, Parker Bowles had a brief fling with Princess Anne before marrying Camilla. The pair, pictured on Derby Day at Epsom, remain great friends
Camilla was famously Charles’s mistress during her marriage to Andrew, while the latter is described by friends as having been ‘very naughty with women’ throughout.
But it seems any differences have been put aside as the pair are ‘joined at the hip’, as one insider has previously put it – claiming they are constantly in touch and make a great team.
The author Tina Brown has claimed it was Andrew, rather than Charles, who was the love of Camilla’s life. Whatever the truth, the man Brown describes as ‘a walking pink gin’ is said to remain one of her chief confidantes.
‘They are joined at the hip,’ according to a friend. ‘He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.’
Known as ‘The Brigadier’ in reference to his former career as an army officer who served with the Blues and Royals and was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in Zimbabwe, Andrew has moved in royal circles for decades.
As a 13-year-old, he served as a page to Lord Simonds, then the Lord High Chancellor, at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
‘My mother was a good friend of the Duke of Norfolk,’ he recalled. ‘The Lord Chancellor had no children so Bernard Norfolk suggested me to Lord Simonds. I have to say that he was the nicest man alive and gave me a very nice set of cufflinks.’
He described a sword fight during the dress rehearsal, saying: ‘All the pages had these little swords. If a group of bored small boys all have swords, you know what’s going to happen.’
Anne married journalist Charles Wilson in 1968, (pictured). In 1970 the couple had a daughter, Emma Wilson
In 1980, Anne married another journalist – John Penrose – but the pair split 27 years later, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ (pictured: John and Ann in 1999)
Anne was at the height of her career at the time, and the divorce reportedly cost her an eye-watering £20 million (pictured: John and Anne in 2001)
Prior to marrying Camilla, he had a brief fling with Princess Anne, but his Catholicism is said to have dampened the prospects of marriage. They remain great friends, however, and she later named him godfather to her daughter Zara.
He also played polo on the same team as Charles when both men were young and rode in the Grand National in 1969, coming 11th.
He first met Camilla in the late 1960s and they dated on and off for several years before marrying in 1973.
According to Andrew’s cousin John Bowes Lyon, the couple were pressured into making the commitment when both their fathers published an engagement notice for them in The Times.
‘His hand publicly forced, Andrew proposed to his girlfriend of nearly seven years,’ wrote the author Sarah Bedell Smith.
‘Camilla was very much in love with [Andrew],’ Bowes Lyon told Smith. ‘Her parents were very keen that Andrew should marry her.’
The Queen Mother, Princess Anne and Princess Margaret all attended their wedding, and the reception took place in St James’s Palace.
As a commanding officer of the Household Cavalry, Andrew accompanied the newly married Charles and Diana on horseback following their wedding in 1981.
Tina Brown claimed that Camilla only resumed her affair with Charles because she was angry at her husband’s infidelities.
Once seen as a dashing figure and something of a ladies man, Parker Bowles is said to have provided at least some of the inspiration for Rupert Campbell-Black, a character in Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster Riders.
Andrew and Camilla divorced in 1995, saying in a statement that ‘throughout our marriage we have always tended to follow rather different interests, but in recent years we have led completely separate lives.’
Emma Wilson was born to mother Anne and father Charlie in 1970. She lived with her father after he won sole custody of her at the age of two, up until she went to boarding school at 16 (picured in 2016)
The following year, he married his long-term mistress Rosemary Pitman. They were together until Rosemary passed away in 2010 of cancer, aged 69.
At the time of her death it was reported that Camilla was ‘deeply saddened’ by the news.
Andrew was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in April 2005, attending their service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The Marchioness of Lansdowne, one of Camilla’s Queen’s Companions, has said: ‘Everybody loves Andrew. He’s a real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving.
‘Andrew will ring her up and tell her when she’s got something wrong and she’ll ring him up and say when he’s misbehaving.
‘Through adversity they’ve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.’