Camilla Parker Bowles’ Ex-Husband Andrew Parker Bowles: Marriage, Divorce, and Children

If you searched for Camilla Parker Bowles ex husband, you’re looking for one clear name and a clean timeline. Camilla’s ex-husband is Andrew Parker Bowles, a retired British Army officer. They married in 1973, had two children, and divorced in 1995—long before Camilla later married King Charles III. Once you strip away the gossip and recycled internet summaries, the core facts are straightforward.

Who is Camilla Parker Bowles’ ex-husband?

Camilla Parker Bowles’ ex-husband is Andrew Parker Bowles (Andrew Henry Parker Bowles). He is best known publicly for his long connection to Britain’s upper-class social world and for his career as a British Army officer. While he wasn’t a “celebrity” in the modern influencer sense, he was a well-connected figure in circles that overlapped with royal life, which is one reason his name remains familiar to anyone who follows royal history.

When Camilla was known as Camilla Shand and later Camilla Parker Bowles, Andrew was the man she married and built a family with. Even after their divorce, he remained an important part of her personal timeline because they share children and a long shared past.

Andrew Parker Bowles in simple terms

Andrew Parker Bowles spent much of his life in the military, a world built on structure, routine, and long stretches of duty that can keep families apart. People often describe him as a traditional “army man,” and that matters for understanding the tone of their marriage. This was not a relationship built around publicity. It was rooted in a very British, very traditional social environment—one where discretion and private boundaries were considered normal.

In many ways, that context explains why so many people still look him up today. He’s not constantly in headlines, but he sits at the beginning of a major modern royal story, and that keeps his name relevant whenever Camilla’s life is explained from the start.

When did Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles get married?

Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles married on July 4, 1973. At the time, Camilla was still widely known socially as Camilla Shand. The wedding took place in London and was considered a notable society event. Even now, it’s frequently referenced as a major milestone in her pre-royal life.

The wedding date matters because it anchors everything else. If you’re reading conflicting “quick bios” online, the most dependable way to check accuracy is to look for whether the timeline stays consistent: marriage in 1973, divorce in 1995, and two children.

How long were Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles married?

They were married for more than two decades. You’ll often see their marriage described as lasting about 22 years, from 1973 until their divorce in 1995. That’s a significant length of time, and it’s important because it reminds you this wasn’t a short-lived society headline. It was a long marriage that unfolded through major cultural changes in Britain, changing expectations around marriage, and a media environment that became increasingly intense as the years went on.

Long marriages can be complicated even without worldwide attention. In their case, interest only grew over time because Camilla’s name became more publicly associated with a much larger royal narrative.

When did Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles divorce?

Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles divorced in 1995. That is the most consistently reported and widely accepted date across reputable summaries of her life. If you’re writing or reading about this topic, this is one of the few points you can treat as firmly established: the marriage ended legally in 1995.

Because royal timelines are often told in overlapping chapters, people sometimes confuse dates, especially when comparing Camilla’s divorce with other royal divorces happening around the same era. The simplest way to keep it straight is to remember: Camilla’s divorce from Andrew was in 1995, years before she later married Charles.

Did Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles have children?

Yes. Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles share two children:

• Tom Parker Bowles
• Laura Lopes

This is one of the most important “why it still matters” details. Regardless of later royal events, Andrew Parker Bowles remains the father of Camilla’s children. That fact alone makes him a permanent part of her personal history. Their children are also the reason Andrew still gets mentioned in biographies and royal explainers today: family connections don’t disappear after divorce.

What was their marriage like?

Most mainstream accounts portray their marriage as deeply embedded in a traditional British social world: country living, formal social expectations, and the practical demands of a military career. That kind of life can be steady on the outside while still being complicated inside. Military careers often involve travel, long absences, and intense schedules, and those realities can create strain even in marriages that begin with genuine affection.

Another factor is the environment around them. Their circles overlapped with aristocratic and royal-adjacent social life—an ecosystem where people often understood the difference between what was said publicly and what was managed privately. That doesn’t mean every rumor you’ve read is true. It does mean their marriage existed in a setting where privacy and discretion were culturally normal, which can make the public record feel thinner than modern audiences expect.

If you’re trying to write about this responsibly, the smartest approach is to focus on the verified structure of the relationship—marriage, children, divorce—without pretending you can prove every emotional or personal detail behind closed doors.

Why Andrew Parker Bowles’ name stays linked to the royal story

Andrew Parker Bowles is still referenced today for a few simple reasons that have nothing to do with celebrity and everything to do with timeline:

• He was Camilla’s first husband, and that marriage lasted over two decades.
• He is the father of her children, which ties him permanently to her family life.
• His social connections overlapped with royal circles, which means he appears in historical retellings of the era.

Even if you never follow royal news, you’ve likely encountered his name because Camilla’s life is often explained as a before-and-after story: before she became a senior royal figure, she lived a full adult life as Camilla Shand and Camilla Parker Bowles. Andrew is the central figure in that first-marriage chapter.

What happened after the divorce?

After divorcing in 1995, Camilla’s personal life entered a new phase. She remained a mother and a public figure within Britain’s social landscape, but she was not yet formally part of the royal family. This period is often described as a transition—less defined by the role she would later hold and more defined by private life, family, and gradually shifting public visibility.

Andrew Parker Bowles also moved forward with his life after the divorce. While many people primarily remember him in relation to Camilla, he had his own identity, career, and personal timeline beyond the marriage. The key point for most readers is that divorce changed their relationship from spouses to co-parents of their children, not to strangers with no shared history.

Common misconceptions about Camilla’s ex-husband

Because the internet loves shortcuts, you’ll see a few common misconceptions repeated in quick biographies. Here are the big ones to watch out for:

• “Andrew Parker Bowles was a royal official.” He was a military officer and socially connected, but not a working royal figure.
• “They divorced right before Camilla married Charles.” The divorce happened in 1995, and Camilla’s marriage to Charles came years later.
• “Their marriage was only important because of later royal events.” In reality, it was a decades-long marriage with two children. That’s important on its own terms.

The internet tends to retell everything as if it existed only to lead to the next big headline. Real lives don’t work like that. Camilla’s first marriage was a major portion of her adulthood, not a footnote.

A clean timeline of Camilla Parker Bowles and Andrew Parker Bowles

• 1973: Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles marry.
• They have two children: Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes.
• 1995: They divorce.

If you keep those three points straight, you’ll be more accurate than most of the copy-and-paste summaries online.

The takeaway

The clear answer to Camilla Parker Bowles ex husband is Andrew Parker Bowles. They married on July 4, 1973, stayed together for more than two decades, and divorced in 1995. They also share two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes. Everything else you see online—extra drama, exaggerated claims, or confusing timelines—usually comes from the internet trying to turn a long, real marriage into a simplified headline.