Not many people can say they’ve enjoyed breakfast with a future Queen - but Marie Helvin revealed she did just that, on Christmas Day no less, while dating one of her many famous exes. Back in the 1980s, the former Vogue cover star spent several years in a row tucking into a festive morning spread in the then-Camilla Parker Bowles’ company while being romanced by her brother Mark Shand.
Marie, now 73, exclusively told HELLO! in a new interview that she has fond memories of spending time with the woman who would one day become King Charles’ wife - even if she did make an unfortunate fashion faux pas while staying with her conservationist boyfriend’s family. She told how she descended the stairs on her first stay in a silky designer ensemble - much to the amusement of Camilla’s young son, Tom Parker Bowles, whom she shared with her then-husband Andrew.
"Recently I saw a funny interview with Camilla's son, Tom, who said that one of his most memorable Christmases when he was a boy was me coming down the stairs in a negligee; he said he'd never seen anything like it in his life," she shared. "I remember that was my first Christmas with the family, and I just presumed that you dressed up for breakfast, so I went out and bought a Christian Dior white satin negligee. I had no idea that people in the country wear gum boots and jeans and sweaters."
Marie and Mark spent several Christmases in the company of his sister - who was already close with the then-Prince Charles, the godfather to her son, at the time. "I adore Camilla," insists the fashion icon. "Of course, she's the Queen now, but back then I was close to her and her family, and they couldn't have been more kind and welcoming to me and my family. I used to spend Christmas with them, and sometimes my mum would fly over, and it was really wonderful. One year we were at Camilla and her [then] husband Andrew's house, then her parents, then her sister."
The couple’s romance came shortly after her marriage ended with the renowned photographer David Bailey in 1984, and they went on to date for four years - during which time she repeatedly turned down Mark’s marriage proposals. "He was a lovely, wonderful man, but the timing was wrong," she reflected. "It was just too soon after my divorce, and the last thing I wanted was to get married right away. It's sad, but that's how life is." He passed away, aged 62, in 2014.
In addition to Camilla’s late brother, Marie also had relationships with Jack Nicholson, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel and Marco Pierre White. "Falling in love again would be fantastic," she noted. "What woman doesn't want that feeling of being in love, of being loved? I love a sense of humour, but money has never been a big thing for me, and I've never had anybody look after me; I’ve always paid my own rent, except when I was married to Bailey.
© Getty Images"But sometimes I think I'm asking for too much. I'm not somebody who would ever, in a million years, consider going on a dating app; I have always been introduced to men by a friend, and that way I've always felt safe. For some reason I'm more attractive to younger men. I don't understand it, but I'm not going to complain. Sadly, though, I'm at that age where my friends don't do those kinds of introductions any more."
Pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK now to read the full interview. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
