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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jennifer Newton

Princes William and Harry's forgotten step-sister who lives out of the royal spotlight

Princes William and Harry are among the most famous brothers in the world - and many of their other relatives are instantly recognisable.

But the pair also have a stepbrother and a stepsister, who live their lives firmly away from the spotlight.

Their step-siblings, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, are the children of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Before her marriage to Prince Charles in 2005, she had previously been married to Andrew Parker Bowles and had two children.

While Tom is a well-known food writer and often appears on food and cookery TV shows, Laura leads a more private life.

Prince Charles, and Camilla with their children, from left to right, Prince Harry, Prince William, Tom and Laura (Corbis via Getty Images)

She was educated at a Catholic girls boarding school in Dorset, and then studied History of Art and Marketing at Oxford Brookes University.

Before settling down, Laura worked as Tatler’s motoring correspondent before moving into the art world.

She first managed The Space Gallery in London and then co-founded London's Eleven Gallery in 2005, where she was also a director.

Camilla with her only daughter Laura (Getty Images)

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Laura married chartered accountant Harry Lopes in Wiltshire in 2006. He went to Eton College and spent some time underwear modelling for Calvin Klein.

On their wedding day, Laura wore an Anna Valentine dress – the same designer worn by her mother when she married Prince Charles in 2005.

Both William and Harry were guests at her wedding and she attended both of their nuptials.

Camilla with daughter Laura and son Tom (Getty Images)

In fact, her daughter Eliza was a bridesmaid at William's wedding in 2011 when she was just four.

Laura and Harry are also parents to twins Gus and Louis, born in 2009, with Camilla doting on all of her grandchildren.

And although Laura is not a royal, she could be in line to inherit two stately homes

That's because her husband Harry, the son of a baron, is set to take over Gnaton Hall in Devon, as well as the Skelpick estate in the Scottish Highlands.

Today Laura's mum Camilla and stepdad Charles joined William's wife Kate for a rare outing.

Kate was invited by her father-in-law on the visit to Trinity Buoy Wharf, a centre in East London run by the Prince's Foundation, where traditional textile skills are taught.

They then met students, who demonstrated their sewing machine skills and they even tried their hands at sewing a straight seam themselves.

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