Queen Camilla and King Charles cutting cake© Getty

Queen Camilla's pre-Christmas celebration revealed ahead of family reunion

Her Majesty shares two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, with her first husband Andrew

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
4 hours ago

The Queen is preparing to host her family for the first time for Christmas at Sandringham this year, but she also marked a milestone occasion on Wednesday.

Camilla, 77, shares her children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, with her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles.

Food critic and author Tom turned 50 on 18 December and in an interview with The Telegraph, he said he is "planning a couple of lunches to celebrate".

The writer shares two children with his ex-wife and fashion editor, Sara Buys – Lola, 17, and Freddy, 14.

He has written a number of cookbooks, with his most recent, Cooking and the Crown, looking at recipes ranging from Queen Victoria to King Charles' reigns.  

In an exclusive chat with HELLO! back in October, Tom revealed that he has overhauled his lifestyle ahead of his 50th birthday.

The author shared that he is drinking and eating less and doing Pilates classes.

"Everyone else is 20 and toned and chiselled," he said of his fellow Pilates attendees. "Sometimes I'm the only bloke there, so I sit in the corner."

Laura Lopes standing with Queen Camilla and Tom Parker Bowles© Getty
Camilla with her children, Laura and Tom, at Tom's book launch in September

Thomas Henry Charles Parker Bowles was born in 1974 in London as the eldest child of Camilla and Andrew, but he grew up in Wiltshire at Bolehyde Manor and later Middlewick House, near Corsham. His sister and artist, Laura, arrived four years later.

Andrew and Camilla divorced in 1995 amid extramarital affairs on both sides, with Camilla reigniting her romance with then Prince Charles.

Charles and Camilla went on to finally marry in 2005, with Tom, Laura, and Princes William and Harry all in attendance at the nuptials.

© Getty
Tom with his parents in 1992

Tom was educated at Summer Field School in Oxford, before attending Heywood Preparatory School and then later Eton College.

He then studied English at Worcester College, Oxford, where he was a member of the Piers Gaveston dining society.

After university, Tom worked as a junior publicist for public relations firm, Dennis Davidson Associates, before becoming Tatler's food columnist in 2001. Since then, he has published nine cookbooks, has written for several publications and appeared on TV and radio programmes.

© Getty
Tom and Sara on their wedding day in September 2005

Tom wed Sara in Oxfordshire in 2005, with William and Harry among the guests at the ceremony.

The couple separated in 2018 and finalised their divorce in 2022. Tom has been in a relationship for the last four years and lives in North Kensington.

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