Queen Camilla's son Tom Parker-Bowles reflects on his parents 'getting older' and praises his 'great' mother

Daily Mail​

02-05-2025

King Charles spoke this week about the 'daunting' and frightening' experience of being told that he had cancer.
And his stepson, Tom Parker -Bowles is increasingly conscious of how much time his parents have left.
'Your parents matter,' reflected the food writer, whose father is Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, 85, first husband of Queen Camilla, 77. 'My parents are getting older. Birth, death and taxes are the definites in life – it matters.
'If my mother asks for something, you try your best. She's been a great mother to us.'
He added of his parents: 'We're there for them as well – as they get older, you appreciate what they've done.'
Tom, who's the Mail on Sunday's restaurant critic, has two children, Lola, 17, and Freddy, 15, with his ex-wife, fashion editor Sara Buys.
'[When young], you take your parents for granted – my children are that age now,' he said, laughing. 'They only ring if it's, 'Can I get some money please Dad?'
Speaking to broadcaster Gabby Logan on her podcast The Mid.Point, he said: 'I appreciate going out now with my son and daughter, I love it when we go out to lunch dinner, and we appreciate it.'
Tom, who turned 50 last year, is not worried about ageing himself, admitting: 'I like getting older [because] you're not expected to go out.'
Last Christmas, he stayed with the Royal Family at Sandringham, their Norfolk retreat, for the first time, at his mother's request.
Shortly before then, he remarked: 'For the past 15 years it has been: I go back to my ex-wife's house, sit in my tracksuit bottoms, go to the pub while the beef's in, then try to get my children to watch The Wild Geese. Classic. So this would be a bit different.'
The Old Etonian married Buys in 2005 and they divorced in 2022. Freddy was one of the Pages of Honour to the Queen at the Coronation in 2023.
In his message issued earlier this week, Charles made a series of poignant remarks about his experience with cancer and revealed that he had taken inspiration from the late Dame Deborah James.
She urged sufferers, he said, with moving magnificence to 'find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope.'
His Majesty opened up in a message to fellow sufferers as they are invited to Buckingham Palace yesterday to recognise the incredible work of community-based cancer organisations.
The King is himself still undergoing regular treatments as someone 'living with cancer', although aides say his recovery continues in a 'very positive direction, as reflected with the very full national and international diary programme' he is undertaking.
Tom's comments come after King Charles spoke about the 'daunting' and frightening' experience of being told that he had cancer
The food critic told Gabby Logan that his parents are 'getting older' (Tom is seen with his father, Andrew Parker Bowles, in September, 2024
Before his latest remarks about his parents, Tom gave a rare insight into family life with his mother, Queen Camilla, on a leading food podcast.
The writer revealed what he grew up eating around the dinner table and what family life was like with his mother, now Queen Camilla, father Andrew Parker-Bowles and sister Laura Lopes.
Tom, the Mail on Sunday's restaurant critic, revealed that he grew up eating hearty roast dinners - but loves fast food too.
He also gave several insights into Camilla's cooking abilities and her go-to takeaway order.
The writer made the revelation during an appearance on the podcast Table Manners with Jessie & Lennie Ware.
During the discussion alongside Henry Jeffreys, the Queen's son opened up about what family life was like in the kitchen and around the dinner table.
Tom explained his mother always ensured her children ate well - but added she doesn't cook much anymore for obvious reasons.
He told the podcast hosts: 'Not so much anymore - She's busy, but she was bringing up two children in the '70s, '80s, in Wiltshire.
'It wasn't that my dad would cook [Camilla] was a good cook, but she wasn't a recipe follower.
'Get a chicken, put a lemon up his a***, you know, put butter all over it, put it in the oven. That's dinner!'
He continued to say that growing up, he didn't eat out often, and his first experience of a restaurant was on a trip to London with his grandmother.
'Growing up in Wiltshire in the '70s and '80s, you did not go out to eat,' he confessed.
'I went to London with my granny, who took us to nice Italian restaurants. But in the country - Wimpy in Swindon. '
And, although he enjoyed the occasional treat, he admitted that the most memorable dish from his childhood was roast chicken and a baked potato.
He said: 'I suppose it would be my mum's roast chicken.
'And then she'd never make gravy, but she'd she'd cut off that fatty bit and, you know, the bit that hangs over, and put it on the top so and then she'd pour all the juices over your chicken, and it'd be a baked potato, and that was it.'
He later described how he would often be allowed the odd takeaway and to rent a film, although Camilla was strict about the movies he could and couldn't watch.
Tom said: 'And the other thing was fish and chips. The fish and chip shop was in our local town, so we went to the video shop afterwards.
'She [Camilla] told them I wasn't allowed to get eighteen, so I'd get Lethal Weapon, and the Delta Force (..) whatever it was.
'It was just pre-the Video Recordings Act, so they weren't rated. But she would know all this stuff.
'And then you get fish and chips and a video, and it's just like, this is the life…and a coke!
During the podcast, Tom also revealed that his last supper would consist of his mother's roast chicken or his favourite order from McDonald's.