James Bowden was born 27 May 1960, the son of Geoffrey Bowden and Gillian (née Mathieson). He was educated at Eton College, and married (1st) in1986, Alison Hulme, having one son and one daughter; then upon the dissolution of that marriage in 1999, he married (2nd), Sarah Peaslee, having twin sons and one daughter.

Bowden served in the Army, 1979–86, then entered the Diplomatic Service in 1986. His diplomatic career included: Second Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1986–90; Deputy Consul General, Aden [Adan, Yemen], 1990–91; Second Secretary, Khartoum [Sudan], 1991–93; First Secretary: Head of Political Section, UN Department, FCO, 1993–96; Washington [United States], 1996–99; Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], 1999–2000; GCHQ, 2000-03, with additional roles between 2001-02 as Deputy Head, Afghanistan Emergency Unit, FCO and DHM, Kabul; Deputy Head of Mission: Kuwait, 2003–04, Baghdad [Iraq], 2004–05, Kuwait, 2005–06; Ambassador to Bahrain, 2006–11; Ambassador to Oman, 2011–14; Deputy Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, 2014–17; Ambassador to Chile, 2018–20.