Elton John and David Furnish are likely to plump for Liz Hurley – rather than ... - Telegraph.co.uk

The Duchess of Cornwall was once characterised by Richard Parker Bowles, the brother of her former husband, Andrew, as a marriage "wrecker" and a woman who didn't like to see other people happy.

The notorious newspaper interview that the black sheep of the Parker Bowles clan gave in 1995 made him a tidy sum, but led inevitably to a froideur between him and his former in-law and her children. Camilla, however, never gave up on "Rick," as he was known to his friends and family, and she was greatly affected by his death, at the age of 63 after a long battle with alcohol addiction.

Camilla was adamant that she should attend the requiem mass that was held for Parker Bowles at the Church of St Francis de Sales on Wash Common in Berkshire, even though it meant rearranging her hectic festive schedule. "I think it was because Rick was so naughty that she adored him," a friend of the family tells me. "She took the view that she couldn't not be there. Rick was a lot of fun."