Queen Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles is reportedly in a relationship with Anne Robinson, the fierce former host of The Weakest Link.
Robinson, 79, and Bowles, 83, have been dating in secret for a year after being introduced by friends, it was claimed.
The relationship reportedly has Camilla’s seal of approval, according to The Sun, with a mutual friend of the TV star and retired army officer telling the newspaper their love story beats “any storyline The Crown could possibly come up with”.
The source reportedly added they have “avoided being photographed together”, with the pair keen on keeping their new romance under wraps “for as long as possible”.
Robinson, who is the daughter of market stall manager and schoolteacher, jokes she is “as far removed from a toff as could be”, the source continued.
“They have judiciously avoided being photographed together as they both wanted to keep this quiet for as long as possible,” they were quoted as saying. “Annie proudly tells everyone she is the daughter of a market trader chicken-seller and is as far removed from a toff as could be – frankly it beats any storyline The Crown could possibly come up with.
“Annie and Andrew get on splendidly – she makes him laugh, a lot, and he is one of the few people to get away with poking fun at her.”
Asked to comment on the relationship, a spokesperson for Robinson told The Independent: ‘I can only quote my boss: “It’s none of your business!”’
The Independent has contacted representatives for Bowles for comment.
Robinson became known for delivering cutting remarks to The Weakest Link contestants and her catchphrase “you are the weakest link, goodbye” when she presented the quiz show, which was first broadcast in 2000 before ending 12 years later.
She went on to host Channel 4 quiz show Countdown, historically becoming the first female to take the role.
She has one daughter, Emma, from her first marriage to the late Charles Wilson, which broke down in 1973. She divorced her second husband, John Penrose, in 2007.
Parker Bowles married Camilla in 1973 and they had two children together, Tom and Laura, before divorcing in 1995.
After the King’s divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales in 1996, Charles and Camilla wed in April 2005 at the Guildhall in Windsor.
Parker Bowles and the Queen have remained friends, with the former Army officer among the select guest list for the King’s coronation earlier this year.
Additional reporting by Press Association