The Crown is back with a new season and Netflix’s historical drama has as many twists and turns as a soap opera.
But, as with any TV show based on true events, fans are wondering how to sift the facts from the fiction.
Did Princess Anne sleep with Andrew Parker Bowles? Was this another love triangle and is Andrew in season four?
Here’s everything you need to know…
Who is Andrew Parker Bowles?
Andrew Parker Bowles was born in 1939 to a well-connected family.
Andrew attended Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and ended up serving in the military for 34 years.
The former husband of the Duchess of Cornwall is now a retired British Army officer.
What happened in The Crown?
Andrew Parker Bowles was depicted in the third season of The Crown as talented polo player, played by Andrew Buchan.
He caught the eye of a young Princess Anne, as well as his future wife Camilla.
In one of many love triangles featured in the Netflix series, the Duchess of Cornwall is seen to have feelings for Prince Charles and Andrew.
A scene also suggests Camilla’s ex-husband slept with both her and Princess Anne.
In episode eight, we see the pair flirting at a party and later tumbling into bed together.
Andrew warns Anne “I don’t want you to get hurt,” referencing his turbulent relationship with Camilla.
However, the princess seems unfazed by his concern.
By episode nine, we learn the fling is over.
Did Princess Anne sleep with Andrew Parker Bowles?
According to Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith the pair did have a relationship.
Smith told Vanity Fair that they met at Royal Ascot in 1970 and began dating June of that year.
She writes that they were unable to marry as Andrew was Catholic.
She also notes Princess Anne and Andrew had many things in common, such as their love of horses.
Even when their romance eventually wound down, they remained lifelong friends.
Andrew Parker Bowles is godfather to Anne’s daughter Zara.
When did Andrew marry Camilla?
Andrew’s brother Simon introduced him to Camilla in the late 1960s and the couple dated on and off for many years.
In 1973, according to Andrew’s cousin, his and Camilla’s father pressured the young man to make a commitment.
The pair published an engagement notice in The Times on their children’s behalf.
“His hand publicly forced, Andrew proposed to his girlfriend of nearly seven years.” Smith writes.
Camilla and Andrew married at the Guards Chapel in London on July 4th of the same year.
The couple have two children, food critic Tom Parker Bowles and art curator Laura Lopes.
Read more: The Crown season 4: Did Camilla and Diana really meet for lunch?
Where is Andrew in Season four?
Andrew Parker Bowles is strangely absent from the fourth season of The Crown, despite still being married to Camilla.
The latest series is set between 1979-1990, but screen writer Peter Morgan chose to focus on the events surrounding Prince Charles, Diana and Camilla’s relationship.
Camilla and Andrew announced their divorce in 1995, releasing a brief statement saying: “Throughout our marriage we have always tended to follow rather different interests, but in recent years we have led completely separate lives.”
The Crown Season 4 is available to stream on Netflix
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