He’s captured the hearts and minds of readers across the globe for many decades, ever since Jilly Cooper’s iconic bonkbuster Riders was released in 1985. And, more recently, he’s appeared in the dreams of many – thanks to Alex Hassell’s embodiment of this fictional bad boy in the Disney+ adaptation of Cooper’s follow-up novel Rivals, the second in her Rutshire Chronicles.
Described as the most handsome man in England, Rupert-Campbell Black seduces his way through a portfolio of women across the various books in the series, captivating readers and viewers alike with both his disarming charm and outrageous cruelty. After beginning life as a showjumper, he moves on to become a Tory MP in the later books.
When she spoke to Elizabeth Day on her hit podcast How to Fail in 2024, she revealed just who had inspired the infamous character of Rupert Campbell-Black.
Who is the character of Rupert Campbell-Black based on?
Jilly Cooper based the character of Rupert Campbell-Black on a tranche of real-life Ruperts she met in the Cotswolds in the 1980s, having moved there from London as a writer for the Sunday Times.
In 2016 for the launch of her new novel Mount!, Cooper brought together the three men that inspired the character of Rupert Campbell-Black, introducing them to the crowd as her “real-life Ruperts”.
One of the inspirations behind the character of Rupert was Andrew Parker Bowles, who at that point was married to Camilla Shand, who would, of course, go on to remarry and become the Queen of England.
Both Campbell-Black and Parker Bowles had double-barrelled surnames, were blonde (a feature not carried into the Disney+ adaptation with the dark-haired Hassell), were of upper-class lineage and were enormously fond of horses – both working in equestrian sports, Parker Bowles as a jockey and Campbell-Black as a showjumper. Neither were known for their fidelity, with Parker Bowles rumoured to have conducted a string of extra-marital affairs while he was married to Camilla.
Another inspiration behind the character of Rupert is the 21st Earl of Suffolk, Michael Howard. Cooper revealed this after the death of “Mickey Suffolk” in 2022. She told the Daily Mail that whenever he used to phone her, he’d say, “It’s Rupert here”. He shared a love of horses – and women – with Campbell-Black, breeding racehorses and marrying three times.
The third inspiration for the character of Rupert Campbell-Black is perhaps not as subtle as the others, due to his name: Rupert Lycett Green. He undoubtedly shares the sharp tailoring of Cooper’s leading man. Lycett Green is a designer, famed for his contribution to men’s fashion through his boutique Blades in London, with his designs featuring in the V&A, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of London. With his wife Candida Betjeman (daughter of writer John Betjeman), he lived in Wiltshire, which was no doubt where he met Jilly Cooper.
Top image: Jilly Cooper at her home in Gloucestershire, 1988. (Photo by Larry Ellis Collection/Getty Images)
