You probably don't know all that much  about Camilla Parker Bowles' ex-husband,  

Andrew Parker Bowles. After all, the  pair got divorced many, many years ago.  

Here's what you need to know about the man the  Duchess of Cornwall married before Prince Charles.

Despite never being a royal himself, Andrew  Parker Bowles served his country when he was  

in the military. In fact, according  to the Animals in War Memorial Fund,

"[Andrew Parker Bowles] was an officer in The  Household Cavalry and Royal Army Veterinary  

Corps from 1960 to 1995 and was awarded  The Queen's Commendation for Bravery."

That's a long time to be in the army, and  an impressive award for Andrew's service  

to his country. As Prince Charles was  also in the Royal Air Force for a time,  

it would be safe to assume that Camilla Parker  Bowles has a type and loves a man in uniform.

Obviously, after Andrew and Camilla Parker  Bowles went their separate ways and got divorced,  

she would go on to become a  major player in the royal family.  

But before any of that happened, Andrew  also got pretty familiar with royalty.

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told Vanity  Fair that Andrew had already had a relationship  

with the royal family before anything happened  between Camilla and Prince Charles. Specifically,  

he was very close with Charles' younger sister,  Princess Anne. As Smith told Vanity Fair,

"Anne and Andrew started dating in June  1970. [...] Anne and Antdrew enjoyed  

each other's company, but they could  never marry because he was a Catholic."

Smith added that the pair had  met at the 1970 Royal Ascot,  

when Andrew received a very special invitation  from the royal family to celebrate with them.  

So while Andrew and Camilla were  seeing each other on and off,  

he'd also started to date Anne, something that  was explored in Netflix's "The Crown." In fact,  

there was basically a love quadrangle going on,  as royal biographer Penny Junor told Marie Claire,

"[Camilla] was passionately in love with [Andrew]  but he was a cad, he was bonking other people,  

some of her friends. So when she was introduced to  Charles [...] and she thought 'Andrew is [...] off  

with Princess Anne [...] teach Andrew a  lesson.' So she had a fling with Charles."

Though Andrew Parker Bowles isn't in  the spotlight as much as his ex-wife,  

he's still an important part of her life.  And that's because they share two children,  

and neither went on to have anymore kids.

Camilla and Andrew's oldest son, Tom Parker  Bowles, was born on December 18, 1974,  

and works as a food writer. Andrew and Camilla  also welcomed a baby girl, Laura Parker Bowles,  

on New Year's Day in 1978. Laura founded an art  gallery in London, and got married to Harry Lopes,  

with whom she has three children,  making Camilla and Andrew grandparents.

Speaking of "The Crown," the show is known to  have some historical inaccuracies to make the  

series more dramatic. Royal biographer Sally  Bedell Smith revealed that one such inaccuracy  

was the series insinuating that the  Queen Mother had secret meetings  

to make sure Camilla didn't marry Prince Charles,  but instead married Andrew Parker Bowles.

"Andrew Parker Bowles,  

Camilla's first love and the man she's still  devoted to." "She's not devoted to Charles?"

Additionally, Camilla's affair with Charles  

wasn't even on the Queen Mother's  radar, as Smith told Vanity Fair,

"Interfering like that is something  the queen would never do [...] It  

was highly unlikely that she even  knew about Charles and Camilla.  

It was generally known that Camilla was in  love with Andrew Parker Bowles and wanted  

to marry him. But no one took the romance  between Charles and Camilla seriously."

In January 1995, Andrew and Camilla Parker  Bowles announced they were getting divorced,  

and as Prince Charles and Princess  Diana had separated a few years prior,  

everyone knew what would happen next.  In fact, Diana even subtly admitted that  

Charles and Camilla wanted to be together  during her famous interview with the BBC.

"Well, there were three of us in this  marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

Andrew was able to move on fairly quickly, as  he remarried in 1996, a year after his divorce  

from Camilla was finalized. According to Harper's  Bazaar, Rosemary Parker Bowles, a garden designer,  

was also previously married and  had three children. Additionally,  

the couple was also friendly with Camilla and  Charles, despite their complicated history.

Sadly, Andrew's second wife, Rosemary,  passed away on January 10, 2010,  

from cancer, leaving behind Andrew and her three  children. Fortunately for Rosemary and Andrew,  

she was still able to have been there  for some pretty huge milestones.  

According to Hello! magazine, Henry  Pitman, one of Rosemary's children, said,

"She was very pleased to have made  Christmas and then Andrew's birthday,  

his 70th, just after Christmas, and  subsequently the birth of his grandchildren."

Princess Anne was there at Rosemary's  funeral to comfort her good friend Andrew.  

Throughout his life, Andrew has  remained close to the royal family,  

so it's nice that they were there  for him during such a hard time.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak afflicted  nations all over the world, Andrew Parker Bowles  

was unfortunately impacted by the disease. And  because of Andrew's proximity to the royals,  

his diagnosis was obviously the talk of the town,  and as it happened early on during the pandemic.

In April 2020, Andrew was diagnosed  with COVID-19, sparking renewed interest  

in his relationship with Anne. This is because  Andrew was seen at the Cheltenham Festival with  

Anne and others, meaning he could have  exposed the royal family to COVID-19.  

Luckily, Andrew recovered from the  virus, but it couldn't have been easy.

Andrew Parker Bowles isn't on social  media, and while he continues to remain  

close to the royal family, he's still  a relatively private person. After all,  

having had his relationships with Princess  Anne and Camilla Parker Bowles talked about so  

openly in the press, it makes sense that Andrew  wouldn't want to be in the spotlight anymore.

According to Town & Country, Andrew has kept  a low profile, especially after his second  

wife's death. However, with the success  of Netflix's "The Crown," Andrew's life  

is once again in the public interest, so  his decision to stay out of the public eye  

might also be strategic. Considering the fact that  he was around while Prince Charles was cheating on  

Princess Diana with Camilla, his own wife, people  are naturally curious about him. But really,  

he's moved on from it all and  is just living his best life.

Check out one of our newest videos right here!  Plus, even more List videos about the royal family  

are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel  and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.