Marie Helvin reveals she wore white satin negligee to breakfast with Camilla! Model recalls her fashion faux pas while dating Queen’s brother Mark Shand in the 1980s

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Marie Helvin, a pioneering supermodel, has shared stories about her experiences with prominent figures, including a man with ties to the royal family.

She rose to fame as a Vogue cover model in the 1970s, became a celebrated supermodel in the 80s, and later, in the 90s, helped popularize the idea of detoxing. She was also famously married to photographer David Bailey.

After Marie separated from Bailey in 1984, she met Mark Shand, a conservationist and the brother of Camilla Parker-Bowles, who later became Queen.

Marie and Mark dated for four years. During that time, she became close with Camilla and the rest of Mark’s family, but she declined his proposals to get married.

He later died in 2014, aged 62, after a fall in New York City.

Marie, 73, recently told Hello! magazine that while she thought her former partner was a “lovely, wonderful man,” the timing of their relationship wasn’t right. She explained it was too soon after her divorce, and she wasn’t ready to remarry. She added that while it was disappointing, that’s just how things sometimes work out.

I’ve always loved Camilla. Even before she became Queen, I was close to her and her family, who were incredibly kind and welcoming to both my family and me. We used to celebrate Christmas together, and my mother would sometimes fly in to join us – it was a really special time.

We spent a year moving between Camilla’s house with her husband Andrew, her parents’ place, and her sister’s home.

Marrie shared a hilarious story about a Christmas memory. Apparently, Camilla’s son, Tom, once recounted how he was shocked as a child to see her coming down the stairs in a negligee – he said it was the most surprising thing he’d ever witnessed!

I’ll never forget my first Christmas with the family. I just assumed everyone dressed up for breakfast, so I bought a beautiful white satin nightgown by Christian Dior. I quickly learned that country Christmases are much more casual – people wear things like rubber boots, jeans, and sweaters!

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE the men Marie’s been with! Besides being close to Camilla’s brother, she’s dated Jack Nicholson – can you even imagine?! And Eric Clapton, the guitar legend! Then there’s Peter Gabriel, and even the famously fiery chef, Marco Pierre White! Seriously, her life is like something out of a movie!

During the conversation, Marie shared that a year following her breast reconstruction surgery after battling cancer, she had a romantic experience with an expedition leader she’d met through a friend.

I continue to experience my sexuality as a core part of who I am, and I expect that will remain true throughout my life, regardless of my sexual activity.

It wasn’t a romantic relationship, and I don’t want to call it a one-night stand either,” she said. “I carefully considered who he was, we met a few times, and then I decided I wanted to be intimate with him.

I felt safe enough to tell him about my surgery and explained that my breast is still sensitive, as it took a long time for feeling to return, so I’m not comfortable with it being touched much.

I was scared of not trying, so I went for it, and it turned out really well. It was a good choice for my first experience. Since he lives in France, we decided not to pursue a relationship.

Marie, who was raised in Tokyo by an American father and a Japanese mother, believes her successful fashion career happened partly due to luck and being in the right circumstances.

She was discovered as a teen in Japan and then moved to London, where she worked with famous designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, and Valentino. She believes her unique heritage gave her an advantage.

Marie was diagnosed with breast cancer just before her 70th birthday.

In a December 2022 interview with the Daily Mail, Marie shared that before her breast cancer diagnosis, she felt very fit and healthy, and had a strong sense of her own well-being.

As a model, I’ve always prioritized my health and treated my body like an instrument, taking care of it through a healthy lifestyle – I don’t drink or smoke, and I exercise daily. Because of this, I mistakenly believed something like this couldn’t happen to me, as I didn’t think I was at risk.

‘Now I know what a lot of rubbish that is. It’s made me realise that appearances are deceiving.’

She explained that she made a firm decision to stay positive and get in good physical condition before her operation, knowing it would help her recovery.

Lately, I’ve been feeling really down, sometimes just bursting into tears for no apparent reason. Even with time passing, I still struggle to accept what happened. No one seems to have an answer for why it did, and it feels like something I just have to live with.

Although Marie is currently healthy, she’s facing a five-year treatment plan that’s been difficult for her.

I’ve been given a clean bill of health, but I’m finding the ongoing treatment challenging. It’s a five-year plan, and I’ve just finished the first year.

The medications I’m receiving here cause symptoms similar to those of menopause, so it feels like I’m experiencing menopause all over again.

‘I sleep as I when i feel like it, I can’t sleep, I wake up with night sweats.’

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2025-12-02 04:10