Laura Rose Lopes (' Parker Bowles; born 1 January 1978) is an English art curator. She is the daughter of

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

and

Andrew Parker Bowles Brigadier Andrew Henry Parker Bowles (born 27 December 1939) is a retired British Army officer. He is the former husband of Queen Camilla. Early life and family Andrew Parker Bowles was born on 27 December 1939 as the eldest of four children to ...

, and the stepdaughter of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

Biography

Early life

Laura Parker Bowles was born on 1 January 1978, the second child of army officer

and

Camilla Shand Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

. Ten years after her divorce from Andrew, Camilla married

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and later became queen consort upon his accession to the throne. She grew up at

Bolehyde Manor Bolehyde Manor is a 17th-century manor house at Allington, north-west of Chippenham, in Wiltshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building within the Allington conservation area of Chippenham Without parish. Camilla Parker Bowles (later Quee ...

in Allington, and later

Middlewick House Middlewick House is a Grade II listed Georgian-style house just outside the town of Corsham, Wiltshire, England. It is the home of the Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his wife Nettie, who acquired it from previous owners Andrew and Camilla Par ...

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest o ...

, both in Wiltshire. She and her older brother Tom were raised as

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s. Their father is Catholic, as was their paternal grandmother,

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. Lopes was educated at

St Mary's Shaftesbury St Mary's School was an independent Roman Catholic day and boarding school for girls, founded in 1945 in a rural setting near Shaftesbury, England. The school had a sixth form and was a member of the Girls' Schools Association. After operating a ...

, a Catholic girls boarding school in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. In the 1980s, she and her brother attended

Heywood Preparatory School Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest of ...

in Corsham. She later attended

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

, where she studied History of Art and Marketing.

Career

In 2001, Lopes spent three months as an intern at the

Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the home ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, which she said years later that she still visited when in Venice. She was ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

''s motoring correspondent in 2001 while her brother Tom was a food columnist at the same magazine. Lopes managed The Space Gallery in London's

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

area in the mid-2000s, and in October 2005 became a co-founding partner and

gallery director A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of London's Eleven gallery.

Marriage and children

On 6 May 2006, she married chartered accountant Harry Marcus George Lopes, son of the Hon. George and Hon. Sarah Lopes. Harry is a grandson of

Massey Lopes, 2nd Baron Roborough Massey Henry Edgcumbe Lopes, 2nd Baron Roborough, JP (4 October 1903 – 30 June 1992) of Maristow in the parish of Tamerton Foliot, Devon, was a British peer and officer of the British Army. Early life Lopes was the only son of Henry Yarde ...

and Helen Dawson, as well as of

Gavin Astor Gavin Astor, 2nd Baron Astor of Hever (1 June 1918 – 28 June 1984), was an English soldier, publisher, peer, and member of the Astor family. Biography Astor was the eldest son of John Jacob Astor, 1st Baron Astor of Hever (1886–1971), an ...

and Irene Haig of the

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settle ...

. The wedding took place at St Cyriac's Church, an 11th-century

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in

Lacock Lacock is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Chippenham, and about outside the Cotswolds area. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust a ...

, Wiltshire. Lopes wore a wedding dress by

Anna Valentine Anna Valentine, previously known as Robinson Valentine, is a British luxury fashion house launched in 1986. It was founded by designer duo Antonia Robinson and Anna Valentine. The pair began working under the name "Robinson Valentine." Robin ...

, the designer known for designing her mother's dress for her wedding to the Prince of Wales in 2005. Between 400 and 500 guests attended the wedding, and more than 2000 well-wishers lined the streets after the ceremony. The reception was held at Ray Mill, the nearby estate of the bride's mother. Lopes gave birth to a daughter, Eliza, on 16 January 2008. On 30 December 2009 she gave birth to fraternal twin boys, Gus and Louis. Eliza was a bridesmaid at the

wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since ...

on 29 April 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Laura 1978 births Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Astor family British art curators British women curators Cubitt family Edmonstone family English curators English people of Canadian descent English people of Dutch descent English people of French descent English people of French-Canadian descent English people of Scottish descent English Roman Catholics Family of Charles III Keppel family Living people Livingston family Motoring journalists Parker family People educated at St Mary's School, Shaftesbury People from Wiltshire Shand family