Born into an elite horsey family, close to the royals. 1960 commissioned into the Royal Horse Guards and stayed in the mounted services for much of his military career, based at Hyde Park Barracks. Was one of the first at the scene of the Hyde Park bomb in 1982. Retired from the army in 1994. A trustee of the Animals in War Memorial Fund.
Andrew Henry Parker Bowles was born on 27 December 1939. He was the eldest of the four children of Derek Henry Parker Bowles (1916-1977) and Ann Parker Bowles née de Trafford (1918-1987). His birth was registered in the 1st quarter of 1940 in the Surrey Mid-Eastern registration district. His three siblings were: Simon Humphrey Parker Bowles (b.1941); Mary Ann Parker Bowles (b.1945) and Richard Eustace Parker Bowles (1947-2010).
He was educated at Ampleforth College, Ampleforth, Yorkshire and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Berkshire.
In the 1960 electoral register he was listed as Captain Andrew H. Parker-Bowles, together with his brother Simon, at 60 Portobello Road, London, W11 and he was still listed there as Andrew Parker-Bowles in the 1967 London L-R telephone directory. He was however, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor-General of New Zealand between 1965 and 1966.
On 4 July 1973 he married Camilla Rosemary Shand (b.1947) in The Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London, SW1 and they had two children: Thomas Henry Parker Bowles (b.1974) and Laura Rose Parker Bowles (b.1978). He was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in 1980 and in 1982 he was appointed as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1982.
He and his wife divorced on 19 January 1995 and on 2 February 1996 at Chelsea Register Office, London, he married Rosemary Alice Dickenson (1940-2010), a divorcee who had previously been married to Lt-Col. John Hugh Pitman (b.1935). In 2005 he and his new wife attended the wedding of Camilla to Charles, Prince of Wales.
He gained the rank of Brigadier in the Blues and Royals, a cavalry regiment and part of the Household Cavalry and in 2003 it was reported he was living at Church Lane House, Brokenborough, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, however electoral registers between 2003 and 2009 listed him at Flat 5, 57 Cornwall Gardens, London, SW7.
He is shown as 'Brig. Andrew Parker Bowles OBE' on the Animals in War memorial at Brook Gate, London, W1.
