Queen Camilla: Real reason behind divorce with Andrew Parker Bowles, who is attending the coronation

King Charles' coronation is upcoming and it has been revealed that Queen Camilla's ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles has been invited to the grand (and expensive) festivities. Given that the King and Queen were having a secret relationship while the two were married to other people, many have been wondering about how the Queen's current relationship is with her ex-husband. Moreover, how did they relationship really end?

Let's find out exactly what led to the divorce of Queen Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles. But first, we must start in the very beginning.

Queen Camilla and Andrew met in the 1960s

Camilla and Andrew first met in the late 1960s and the pair were introduced to each other by Andrew Parker Bowles’ younger brother, as reported by Town & Country.

The couple then started an on-and-off relationship for a number of years. Camilla and Andrew finally married on July 4, 1973, and welcomed two children into the world, Laura Hopes and Tom Parker Bowles.

The pair were married for 20 years before they decided to split and divorced in 1995. But what led to their divorce?

Read more: Charles Spencer: The controversial reason behind the divorces of Princess Diana's brother

Queen Camilla and Andrew's on-and-off again relationship

As mentioned above, Camilla and Andrew had an on-and-off again relationship. As reported by The List, the ‘off’ moments came after Andrew Parker Bowles was unfaithful. There are rumours that one of Andrew’s affair partners was Princess Anne, with whom he had a relationship prior.

It is well known that Andrew wasn’t the only one to have an affair. Indeed Camilla and then Prince Charles had an affair before Camilla and Andrew married. They called off their affair when then Prince Charles went to serve in the Royal Navy in 1973.

Reports suggest that Charles and Camilla rekindled their love affair in 1986, which ultimately led to Camilla and Andrew’s divorce.

Read more: Queen Consort: Why was Camilla named Queen Consort and not Queen?

Queen Camilla and Andrew’s eventual divorce

The List reports that Andrew was furious when he discovered Camilla’s affair and wanted a divorce. Their lawyers claimed that the pair divorce as ‘there is little of common interest between [them].’

However, Daily Express expert Wayne Francis said that Andrew felt ‘publically humiliated’ by his wife's affair.

The couple released a statement concerning their divorce:

Throughout our marriage we have always tended to follow rather different interests, but in recent years we have led completely separate lives.

Both Camilla and Andrew remarried their affair partners. Camilla married Charles in 2005 and Andrew Parker Bowles married Rosemary Pitman in 1996 they were married until her death in 2010 after battling cancer.

Despite their divorce, Queen Camilla and Andrew remained friends and often attend events together. King Charles is even godfather to Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla and Andrew's son. Moreover, Andrew Parker Bowles is godfather to King Charles' niece, Zara Phillips.

Sources used:

Showbiz CheatSheet: ‘When and Why Did Camilla Parker Bowles and Her First Husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, Get Divorced?’

The List: ‘The Real Reason Camilla Parker Bowles Got Divorced’

Town & Country: ‘Who Is Camilla's First Husband, Andrew Parker Bowles?’

Birmingham Live: ‘Why Camilla divorced her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles’

Today: 'Who is Camilla’s first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles?'