The thing about Andrew Parker Bowles and Camilla’s marriage was that it always suited them just fine, and their arrangement was perfectly acceptable within the aristocracy AND the royal family. Andrew cheated on Camilla, Camilla cheated on Andrew, and they were both fine with it and relatively discreet about it. It was Charles and Diana’s marriage troubles which put the spotlight on the Parker-Bowles situation. Anyway, Andrew and now Queen Consort Camilla are still quite close. He even steps in for her and makes appearances on her behalf. He was invited to Charles and Camilla’s wedding and he was reportedly quite jolly about his ex-wife’s situation. And now Andrew Parker Bowles is going to the coronation.

“Being divorced, I don’t think you can have it both ways.” So said the Duchess of York last week, explaining why she is not invited to the coronation on May 6. One man, however, can and will have it both ways. Andrew Parker Bowles, Camilla’s former husband, will be front and centre of the congregation at Westminster Abbey watching his first wife crowned alongside King Charles, while his grandchildren take centre stage with official roles in the ceremony.

Camilla, 75, and Parker Bowles, 83, divorced in 1995 after 22 years of marriage but remain the closest of friends, seeing each other regularly. They have two children — Tom Parker Bowles, 48, a food writer, restaurant critic and the King’s godson; and Laura Lopes, 45, a gallerist — and five grandchildren. Tom’s son, Freddy, 13, and Laura’s twin sons, Gus and Louis, also 13, will be Camilla’s pages of honour at the coronation, carrying the train of her robes.

A friend of Parker Bowles’s said of his enduring relationship with the Queen: “They are joined at the hip. 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.”

Friends politely describe Parker Bowles, who was unfaithful to Camilla during their courtship and marriage, as “a bit of a rogue” and “very naughty with women”. It has often been suggested that he was one of the inspirations for Rupert Campbell-Black, the central character in several of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster books.

Known as “the Brigadier” among friends and in royal circles, Parker Bowles, a retired army officer who served with the Blues and Royals, part of the Household Cavalry, has moved in royal circles for decades. Before his marriage to Camilla in 1973, he had a romance with Princess Anne. They remain close friends and are often spotted together at Royal Ascot.

[From The Times]

It’s true about Andrew and Anne – they’re also quite close, still, to this day. There are tons of photos of Andrew and Anne together at horse events, chatting away and flirting with each other (and her husband is suspiciously never around those events). The point, I suppose, is that Andrew isn’t simply close to his ex-wife – he’s close to many within the extended Windsor clan. He’s always been part of that circle. He never sold out Camilla, even though Cam’s PR has been working overtime to emphasize the fact that Andrew cheated on her constantly. Like she wasn’t banging a whole-ass heir to the throne throughout her first marriage. Still, Andrew has a good life and he’s not going to mess it up by giving some tell-all interview. So his reward is seeing his ex-wife crowned in person. Now, do I also think it’s tacky that the coronation is all about Camilla’s “victory lap” and it’s entirely a Parker-Bowles affair? Sure, that too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.