Rupert Campbell-Black is the ‘most handsome man in England’, at least, he isaccording to Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles.
The fictional lusty lothario has been winning over the hearts of Middle England since his debut in the Rivals in 1985.
The Olympian show jumper turned Tory MP character,who recently gained a new legion of fans thanks to the Disney Plus adaptation of the series, was inspired byby half a dozen real life aristocrats – including Queen Camilla’s first husband Andrew Parker-Bowles.
Hailed as the ‘Queen of the bonkbuster’, Dame Cooper, who died today aged 88, said last year thatformer Army officer Parker Bowles, once dubbed ‘the lothario ofLondon‘, provided at least some of the inspiration for thepromiscuous character.
‘He’s been a great friend for a long time… so he’s very like Rupert. He’s beautiful and blond and stunning,’ said Jilly.
In her books, Campbell-Black is described as ‘well-constructed. Usually, men with such long legs had short bodies but Rupert, from the broad flat shoulders to the lean muscular hips and powerful thighs, seemed perfectly in proportion.’
The writer always maintained she gleaned only the best bits from her various high-society pals, saying she was inspired by ‘their charm and glamour’ and that her character’s ‘naughty behaviour’ didn’t come from them.
However, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that not only was Parker Bowles onceseen as a dashing figure, he was also something of a ladies man.
The Queen’s ex husband Andrew Parker Bowles, a dashing figures as a young man, played polo on the same team as a young Prince Charles. Pictured (right) with the then prince on a royal visit to Kenya in 1971
As the world mourns the tragic loss of one of the UK’s greatest novelists, many will reflect on the exciting, passion-led life of Jilly Cooper. Pictured at her home in 1978
In the wake of her passing, dozens have offered tribute to the late author, including Queen Camilla, (left)whose first husband Andrew Parker-Bowles was said to have been the inspiration for Dame Jilly’s invented lothario Rupert Cambell-Black (pictured in 2022)
Played by British actor, Alex Hassell in the Disney+ show, based on the book, Campbell black is said to be inspired not by one but six real-life figures, including the current Queen’s ex-husband.
It’s now thought dashing high-society gentleman each contributed to the creation of Cooper’s main protagonist in many of her most famous novels, including Riders (1986), Polo: (1991), The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous: (1993) and Appassionata (1996).
In masterminding the lothario, Dame Jilly looked towards the charm and glamour of men who once dominated London‘s high-society party scene with their racy pursuits, including Queen Camilla‘s former husband, a playboy earl, a legendary London tailor, and an art dealer.
The 88-year-old author also turned to her nearest and dearest to inform the lead character, including her father, W.B Salitt and late husband, Leo Cooper.
Andrew Parker Bowles was known as ‘The Brigadier’ in reference to his former career as an army officer who served with the Blues andRoyals and was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in Zimbabwe, Parker Bowles, now 85, has moved in royal circles for decades – and remains good friends with his ex-wife Queen Camilla.
Parker Bowles first met Camilla in the late 1960s and they dated on and off for several years before marrying in 1973.
The couple divorced in 1995 after 22 years of marriage andhave two children: food writer Tom, 50 and Laura Lopes, 47, an artist.
The now 85-year-old was a guest at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in April 2005, attending their service of blessing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The Marchioness of Lansdowne, one of Camilla’s Queen’s Companions, has said of Cooper’s muse: ‘Everybody loves Andrew. He’s a real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving.’
Cooper has revealed that Mr Parker Bowles was one of several high society characters who helped her created Rupert Campbell Black (Pictured: Alex Hassell playing the role in the Disney+ adaptation)
He’s Jilly Cooper’s most notorious character, and the author is said to have drawn inspiration for Rupert Campbell Black fromAndrew Parker Bowles (pictured with Queen Camilla in 1985)
Parker Bowles and Camilla datedon and off for several years before marrying at the Guards’ Chapel in 1973
Tailor to the stars, Rupert Lycett Green, is thought to be another inspiration behind Mr Campbell-Black.
He became one of London’s biggest movers and shakers in the 1960s and 70s thanks to his London shop Blades.
Well connected by birth, he is the son of Commander David Cecil Lycett Green – and enjoyed a glass of champagne with Cooper at her home when the latest incarnation of her bed-hopping bounder was unveiled on Disney+.
The 86-year-old continues to be a key figure in high society – and still has plenty of energy, it seems.
In 2023, hecompleted the Cresta Run, 71 years after he first hurtled down St Moritz’s forbidding track.
‘Riding the Cresta is sliding down an iced toboggan run at more than 70mph, lying on your tummy with your face a couple of inches from the ice,’ he said afterwards. ‘I’m still hooked.’
Five-and-a-half years after the death of his wife, Candida – daughter of Sir John Betjeman – Lycett Green married again at the age of 81, four years ago.
His bride was Julia Dawson, some 25 years his junior, who has two children by a previous marriage.
Legendary London tailor Rupert Lycett Green (pictured) is also said to have played a part in creating the Rivals character
Lycett Green married Candida Betjeman on 25th May 1963 inWantage, Berkshire. She died in 2014 aged 71 after a 15-year battle with cancer
Dame Cooper also drew on the dashing Mickey Suffolk, the 21st Earl of Suffolk, a playboy in his youth who died in 2022 aged 87.
The author partly based her famous caddish character on Mickey known as ‘the playboy Earl’ – but again said she only used his good bits.
Speaking to Richard Eden, the author said she would cherish the memories she had with the Earl, who was married three times.
‘He was a lovely man — huge fun,’ she said.
‘I first met him when I moved to Gloucester in 1982. Whenever he used to phone, he’d say, ‘It’s Rupert here’.
‘So I said, ‘You know there are two more?’
‘And he would say, ‘Yes, but I’m the real one’.’
The Earl owned Charlton Park estate in Wiltshire, where the Womad music festival is held.
Cooper added: ‘Despite his title and status, he never made you feel inferior. All the best of Rupert, but without the awful parts.’
Howard had first married Simone Litman in 1960, with whom he has a daughter, before he then wed Anita Fugelsang in 1973 and had two children with her.
A decade later, he married for the third time, to Linda Paravicini, with whom he also had two children.
Dame Jilly also looked to the Earl of Suffolk (pictured), who was known for his playboy antics during his youth, to create the ‘super-stud’ character
Jilly Cooper, pictured with the Earl in 2016; he died in 2022 but the author said he relished the role he played in forming the character of Rupert
Dashing Duke: David Somerset owned Badminton House and was educated at Eton, with the royal family close acquaintances throughout his life
Pictured: Jilly Cooper with her late husband Leo, who is said to have inspired Rupert’s character
Once famously described as ‘ruthless yet charming… the kindest man alive’, David Somerset 11th Duke Of Beaufort (pictured) may have also inspired the character
Another muse for Jilly wasDavid Somerset, the 11th Duke of Beaufort, who was once famously described as ‘ruthless yet charming… the kindest man alive’.
The son of Henry Robert Somers Fitzroy De Vere Somerset and Bettine Violet Malcolm, he was educated at Eton and was a keen huntsman.
The Duke was also chairman of Marlborough Fine Art and an English Peer.
He died in 2017 at the age of 89, bequeathing a personal fortune of £71 million after a lifetime at the helm ofone of biggest estates in England.
As owner of the 52,000-acre Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire – home of the famous horse trials, and the place where the game of Badminton was invented in 1863, the Duke could count many of the royal family as close friends.
Speaking about the making of Rivals for TV, the author revealed she also drew on her father and late husband to inform her male leads.
‘I adored my very handsome father who got a First at Cambridge, and also played rugger for both Cambridge and the Army. Later he escaped from Dunkirk and became a Brigadier.
‘He was very macho, as was my lovely late husband of 52 years – I love macho men but only ones who have a great sense of humour and are kind, especially to animals.’
