Joining The Firm? Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker-Bowles carries out a royal engagement on behalf of the Queen Consort as he represents her at a funeral
- Andrew Parker Bowles may take on more royal engagements on Camilla’s behalf
- He represented his ex-wife the Queen Consort at a funeral on Tuesday
- It is thought Camilla and Andrew still enjoy a ‘warm relationship’ after their split
Camilla’s former husband took up a royal engagement on behalf of the Queen Consort, it can today be revealed.
Andrew Parker-Bowles represented the Queen Consort at the funeral of John Bowes-Lyon at the London Oratory on Tuesday.
Bowes-Lyon, who died last month aged 80, was a second cousin of the late Queen.
It comes as King Charles has attempted to ‘slim down’ the monarchy after succeeding his mother, the late Queen, to the throne.
Harry and Meghan, now 5,000 miles away in California, are out of ‘The Firm’ having quit frontline royal duties in early 2020.
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer carrying out royal duties, friends suggest Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles could be called on again.
They claim his appearance on Tuesday could be the first engagement of many.
‘Andrew is happy to do anything he is asked,’ one of his friends claimed. ‘He still enjoys a warm relationship with Camilla.’
Andrew Parker Bowles, 82, represented his ex-wife the Queen Consort Camilla at a funeral on Tuesday (pictured: The couple together in Windsor before their eventual split in the 1980s)
The King and Queen Consort appeared in Dunfermline earlier this month and have taken on several royal engagements since King Charles ascended the throne
The news was recorded in the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements.
‘The Queen Consort was represented by Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles,’ it says of his attendance at the funeral of John Bowes-Lyon at the London Oratory. Bowes-Lyon, who died last month aged 80, was a second cousin of the late Queen.
Formally representing Camilla meant Parker Bowles, 82, was given a prominent pew at the Roman Catholic church.
He and Camilla, who married in 1973, have two children, food critic Tom Parker Bowles and art curator Laura Lopes.
Queen Consort Camilla and Andrew Parker-Bowles (pictured at a funeral in 2014) are still firm friends and enjoy a ‘warm relationship’
They separated in the 1980s, finally divorcing in 1995, with a royal biographer once remarking: ‘It is said that an English gentleman will always lay down his wife for his country and this was certainly true in the case of Andrew Parker Bowles.’
Camilla married Prince Charles in 2005, while Parker Bowles exchanged vows with Rosemary Pitman in 1996. She died in 2010.
Parker Bowles and Bowes-Lyon were cousins. Their great-uncle was the legendary roué Raymund de Trafford, whose bedroom athleticism prompted his brother to offer him £10,000 if he agreed to be castrated.
Raymund responded that he would have ‘one ball cut off and settle for £5,000’.
As the Queen Consort’s diary fills up with royal engagements in her new role, it is possible royal fans may see Andrew filling in for his ex-wife again in future.
On Tuesday, the Queen Consort joined her husband King Charles for their second joint engagement since the royal couple assumed their new roles.
Their Majesties visited Project Project Zero Walthamstow – an organisation which tackles anti-social behaviour among young people.
While the King chatted with a group of teens waving Union Jacks, Camilla beamed as she approached other young people and schoolchildren who had come for the occasion.
She was seen chatting and laughing with a few of the spectators in attendance before the couple entered the organisation’s headquarters.
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