Princess Anne is said to be drawing strength from a trusted and familiar figure as the Royal Family weathers its latest storm.
The 75-year-old Princess, widely lauded as the hardest-working royal, has long stood firmly beside her brother, King Charles III – particularly following the renewed scrutiny surrounding their younger brother, disgraced ex-Prince Andrew.
But when it comes to her own circle of support, Anne is reportedly leaning on Andrew Parker Bowles, described as a “true friend”, during this challenging period.
On Tuesday, the 86-year-old former Army brigadier stepped in to represent Anne at a memorial service for Field Marshal Lord Guthrie at the Guards’ Chapel in London- a gesture that underscores their enduring bond.
It is far from the first time Parker Bowles has supported the Princess Royal publicly – and, according to The Daily Mail’s royal correspondent Richard Eden, he intends to honour their friendship “for as long as he’s able”.
Anne and Andrew’s connection spans more than five decades, with the Parker Bowles family having established ties with the Windsors through the friendship between Andrew’s father, Derek Parker Bowles, and the Queen Mother.
According to King Charles III’s biographer, Sally Bedell Smith, Anne and Andrew first met at Ascot in 1970, and soon after they began a romance just before Anne’s 20th birthday.
Although their relationship was serious, it did not lead to marriage because Andrew, being a Catholic, was considered “an unlikely candidate for marriage to a member of the royal family.”
“Even when their romance eventually wound down, they remained lifelong friends,” Bedell Smith wrote in her 2017 biography Prince Charles: The Passion and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life.
Within a few years, both had married other partners.
Anne, then fourth in line to the throne, wed Captain Mark Phillips, while Parker Bowles married Camilla Shand – who would later become Anne’s sister-in-law when she married King Charles III (then Prince Charles).Â
Despite the shifting dynamics, Anne and Andrew’s friendship endured.
In 1981, Anne and Captain Phillips named Parker Bowles godfather to their daughter, Zara Tindall.
In another intertwining of family ties, King Charles III was named godfather to Tom, the son of Camilla and Andrew.
Anne and Mark divorced in 1992, while Andrew and Camilla divorced in 1995.
Interestingly, Bedell Smith also noted speculation that Anne and Parker Bowles may have been together during their respective marriages.
Reflecting on Anne’s split from her first husband, Bedell Smith wrote: “They had separated three years earlier after persistent reports that both had been unfaithful – in Anne’s case with, among others, Andrew Parker Bowles.”
Anne married Sir Timothy Laurence in December 1992, eight months after her divorce.
Parker Bowles went on to marry Rosemary Parker Bowles in 1996.
Rosemary died from cancer in 2010 at the age of 69, with Anne attending her funeral at St Aldhelm’s Catholic Church in Malmesbury. Camilla later attended Rosemary’s memorial service at the Guards’ Chapel.
Charles and Camilla, who first met in 1972, eventually married in 2005.
They became King and Queen in September 2024 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Despite the tangled web of past romances, Parker Bowles is believed to have kept strong ties with Anne, Camilla and Charles alike – a balancing act few could manage with such ease.
Anne, meanwhile, shares an especially close relationship with her elder brother.
The 77-year-old King is said to have long leaned on his famously no-nonsense sister for steady counsel behind palace walls.
“What Anne can offer King Charles is down-to-earth advice,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail.
“She (Anne) relishes a high workload and usually undertakes the most royal engagements of any royal.
“She is absolutely pivotal in keeping public support for the monarchy.”