![Camilla Parker Bowles visits the mountain village of Altit in the Karokoram Mountains, Skardu Valley on November 3, 2006 in Pakistan.](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/camilla-parker-bowles.jpg)
Camilla Parker Bowles Left ‘Crushed and Unwanted’ by Husband Andrew, Leading to Affair With King Charles III, Claims Royal Insider
During their 21-year marriage, Camilla Parker Bowles, the Queen Consort, was reportedly left “crushed and unwanted” by her husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. His actions allegedly spurred Camilla’s affair with King Charles II, claims a royal insider, who sought solace in a man who “needed her more.”
![Camilla Parker Bowles visits the mountain village of Altit in the Karokoram Mountains, Skardu Valley on November 3, 2006 in Pakistan.](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/camilla-parker-bowles.jpg?strip=all&quality=89)
Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles married in 1973
Andrew Parker Bowles had ties to the royal family. His parents were friends with the Queen Mother, and Andrew was said to have served as a page during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He and Camilla met in the late 1960s and dated on and off for several years.
Camilla met then-Prince Charles in 1970 when she was 23 and he 22. They began dating in 1971 after being introduced by a mutual friend, Lucia Santa Cruz. It was a short fling, and they parted ways a few months later when Charles joined the Royal Navy in 1971.
While Charles was away, Camilla resumed her relationship with Andrew. The couple became engaged in early 1973, and in July, they wed. However, Charles and Camilla remained close, and the couple rekindled their friendship in the late 1970s.
Camilla Parker Bowles was reportedly left “crushed and unwanted” by her husband’s alleged infidelities
![Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Andrew Parker Bowles attend the book launch of 'The Year Of Eating Dangerously' by Tom Parker Bowles, at Kensington Place on October 12, 2006.](https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/camilla-and-andrew-parker-bowles.jpg?w=1200&strip=all&quality=89)
Express reported that journalist Petronella Wyatt claimed Camilla was “passionately in love with the raffish Parker Bowles.” However, his alleged infidelities reportedly led Camilla to seek acceptance outside their marriage, leading to a “pivotal” romantic relationship between her and Charles.
Wyatt called Andrew the “lothario of London.” She said, “Contrary to the public perception of Camilla as a marriage wrecker, it was her husband who began having affairs.” These infidelities “left [Camilla] feeling crushed and unwanted” as they remained married, and she raised their two children, Laura and Tom. Wyatt alleged that Camilla “sought solace in a man who needed her more.”
Andrew even dated Charles’ sister, Princess Anne. However, their relationship never progressed further as he was Catholic and, therefore, could not marry Anne unless he converted. He remains friends with her to this day, and is her daughter Zara’s godfather, reported Town & Country.
Charles married Princess Diana; however, his love for Camilla remained
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Charles proposed to and married Princess Diana in 1981. The couple would go on to have two children, Princes William, and Harry. Subsequently, Diana learned the deep connection between her husband and his former great love remained. Two weeks before the 20-year-old Diana walked down the aisle at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London; she found evidence Charles’s connection with Camilla continued.
In Andrew Morton’s Diana: Her True Story, In Her Own Words, Diana recalled finding out Charles had sent Camilla an engraved bracelet bearing the initials “F” and “G,” a reference to their nicknames for one another, Fred and Gladys. She also recalled a second instance shortly after their marriage. “On our honeymoon, for instance, we were opening our diaries to discuss various things,” she said. “Out comes two pictures of Camilla.”
Charles told biographer Jonathan Dimbleby, in a 1994 interview, that he’d remained faithful in his marriage to Diana “until it became irretrievably broken down.” On Dec. 9, 1992, it was announced Diana and Charles separated.
Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles divorced in 1995. Later that same year, Queen Elizabeth II recommended that Charles and Diana do the same. Their divorce was finalized in 1996, and Diana died in 1997. Charles and Camilla went public with their relationship in 1999 and finally married in 2005.