Camilla inviting ex-husband to coronation shows how to have a good divorce, writes NADINE DORRIES 

I was delighted to read that Andrew Parker Bowles will attend the coronation service to see his ex-wife Camilla be crowned with King Charles.

What a moment of pride that will be for him, their two children and grandchildren.

He and the new Queen were married for 22 years until they divorced in 1995 – which happens to be exactly how long my husband Paul and I were together before we too went our separate ways (temporarily, as it turned out).

It’s a long time. Long enough for the heady days of newlyweds to fade and for a deep and loving friendship to develop.

When you have spent decades with someone and raised children together, they will always be a part of your life.

Major Andrew Parker-Bowles and the new Queen (pictured at their 1973 wedding) were married for 22 years until they divorced in 1995

In the early days of a breakup, when doors are slammed and tears are spilled, it may seem like an impossible goal to continue to care for each other.

Today, about 42 percent of marriages end in divorce — slightly down from the peak in the early 1990s. Blended families are all around us.

It goes without saying that where abuse, coercion or violence has been the cause, the divorce will never be amicable. But most of the time, once the process is complete, the reasons for the divorce are a thing of the past, not a child’s future.

Without ever talking about it, after our divorce, my late husband and I began behaving in a way that eased the pain of our breakup for the kids and allowed us to continue to support each other.

We still spent every Christmas together; he joined us on family vacations; and if I was cooking Sunday lunch, one of the kids would ask, “Shall I call Daddy and see what he’s doing?”

And when I worked long hours in Westminster, I often came home late at night to find that he had come by to turn on the lights and take the bins away for me.

We both knew that nothing made our children’s eyes so happy as when we were five again, laughing together at the table. We were nuclear and we were bound by the invisible family ties.

No experience that he or I could provide individually – regardless of price or location – could replace that simple pleasure.

When I hurt, he hurt too. When I needed someone to talk to – and I could talk to him like no other – he was there for me.

Camilla and Andrew (pictured together in 1992) set a positive example not only for their children, but for the entire country

Camilla and Andrew Parker Bowles have also maintained a close relationship over the years.

The Queen’s best friend, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, has said: ‘Andrew will call her and tell her when she has done something wrong, and she will call him and tell him when he is misbehaving. Through adversity, they have maintained a very good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.’

How true. Especially in the first few years after a divorce, children can feel sadness, fear, disbelief and anger.

Many bounce back and learn to adapt to the changes in schools, routines and family finances – but many do not.

Some worry that if their parents stop loving each other, one day they won’t love them either.

Teenagers may blame one parent for the breakup, or they may both blame their own lives for being so messed up.

In the many years that have passed since their own divorce, Camilla and Andrew have set a positive example not only for their children, but for the entire country.

They have shown that it is possible to live in relative harmony after a divorce. And nothing will make that point more clearly than when Andrew is at the coronation, bursting with pride.

An own room? Beautiful Olivia will be spoiled for choice

Speaking of getting married, the country’s most eligible bachelor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, has been busted.

Hugh Grosvenor, worth around £10 billion, recently proposed to his girlfriend of two years, Olivia Henson, at his 11,000 acre family retreat, Eaton Hall in Cheshire.

Looking at photos of the stately home that beautiful Olivia (pictured with Hugh) is about to become a chatelaine reminds me of the words an old friend often said to my husband and me when we were looking for a bigger house: “You can only live in one room at a time.”

True – but it must be nice to have so many rooms to choose from.

Retail taxes are a luxury we cannot afford

As Secretary of State with responsibility for the fashion industry, I once took the chairman of Burberry and representatives of the British Fashion Council to meet the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

They were deeply concerned about VAT being levied on tourists buying luxury goods in the UK. Their American and Japanese customers opted not to spend their money here and instead headed to Milan and Paris, where they could shop duty-free until they dropped.

Boris was worried about this. But no matter how strong the protests were, the answer was always the same: The Treasury says no.

The bigger picture isn’t just the high-end brands, it’s the impact on the wider economy. Fewer tourists in our shops means fewer visits to our beautiful places, stays in our hotels, use of transport and enjoy our food and hospitality.

It’s time the Treasury started listening. This arrogant talk-to-the-hand attitude, which number 11 has permeated for so many years, must come to an end.

Proof that kids scrub in a dog wash basin!

The rains don’t stop, making life in the countryside a little more difficult when visitors arrive from London.

Last weekend, our newcomers and their children went on invigorating walks, despite the thunderous April showers, the mud and the lack of suitable clothing or rubber boots.

Back home two hours later, their pockets filled with wet daisies, daffodils and the occasional pine cone, the very happy and excited kids fit right into the dog wash basin – after I finished soaping the dogs.

“Are they okay?” Mom asked nervously as I washed thick mud off skinny city legs with dog shampoo. “The nearest emergency room must be miles away.”

Fortunately my groan was covered by the laughter of the children.

Let’s just hope the sun comes out soon.

The emergency alert arrived on millions of phones in the UK shortly before 3pm on Sunday

I know this isn’t necessarily a popular view, but the national emergency alert that was sent to people’s phones on Sunday afternoon was an important exercise.

Yes, it didn’t quite go to plan, but that was the point of testing it.

I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s when the government put pamphlets through the door telling us how to sandbag the house in case of a Soviet nuclear attack.

Given Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s beady eye on Taiwan, we’re going back to these perilous times.

The Cabinet Office, responsible for Britain’s emergency aid, is right to prepare a smartphone version of Cold War government leaflets – telling us what to do when disaster strikes.

After her racist letter in The Observer, Diane Abbott had a long list of people to apologize to, starting with red-headed singer Mick Hucknall and ending with every Jewish person on the planet.

Is anyone surprised by her disgusting remarks? Not for the first time, her hypocrisy is deep. Maybe next time, before Diane picks up a pen and criticizes the mote in someone else’s eye, she’ll remove the beam from her own eye.