Author Dame Jilly Cooper, who was a close friend of Queen Camilla, has died at the age of 88. The Queen, 78, is said to be a fan of Disney+’s racy series Rivals, which was an adaptation of one of Dame Jilly’s novels.
It has been reported that the show’s lothario main character was inspired by Camilla’s ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. Alex Hassell portrays polo-loving lothario Rupert Campbell-Black, a character that the author has confirmed was inspired by her “great friend” Andrew Parker Bowles. Andrew was married to Queen Camilla between 1973 and 1995. Due to being a friend of Dame Jilly, Camilla was reportedly given an “advance copy of the racy eight-part series before it was available to the public”.
The Times assistant editor Kate Mansey wrote: “I am told that [the Queen] adored Rivals, the racy television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s novel.”
Within the first nine seconds of the show, viewers witness Campbell-Black’s naked bottom as he joins the Mile High Club in a Concorde bathroom.
Previously speaking on the How To Fail podcast about Andrew Parker Bowles, Dame Jilly said: “He’s been a great friend for a long time… so he’s very like Rupert. He’s beautiful and blond and stunning.”
In her novel, which was released in 1988, Campbell-Black is described as “well-constructed” with “broad flat shoulders” and “lean muscular hips and powerful thighs”.
Following news of the author’s death, Queen Camilla released a statement on social media, which read: “I was so saddened to learn of Dame Jilly’s death last night. Very few writers get to be a legend in their own lifetime but Jilly was one, creating a whole new genre of literature and making it her own through a career that spanned over five decades.
“In person she was a wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many – and it was a particular pleasure to see her just a few weeks ago at my Queen’s Reading Room Festival where she was, as ever, a star of the show.
“I join my husband The King in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family. And may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs. Camilla R.”