Being Queen Camilla's son obviously comes with certain privileges, but apparently, attending a royal Christmas celebration isn't one of them. Tom Parker Bowles opened up to People about his life as The King's stepson, and during the interview, he admitted he'd never been to the traditional Christmas gathering on the Sandringham estate.
“We are married in, we are not the Royal Ramily," he said of himself and his sister, Laura Lopes, adding, "I’ve never for one second said that."
Although Parker Bowles, 49—who recently released a royal cookbook titled Cooking And The Crown— said that while he found the Royal Family "incredibly nice and friendly" he leads a very different life. The father of two said he and kids Lola, 17, and Freddy, 14, whom he shares with ex-wife Sara Buys, are not "running around palaces."
"I haven’t been to Christmas yet for various reasons," he shared.
As for the "various reasons," it's been suggested that Prince William isn't the biggest fan of Parker Bowles, with a source telling The Daily Beast in July that “it is best to avoid mentioning Tom around William.” The insider went on to say that the Prince of Wales was hesitant about his stepbrother's "rather louche lifestyle as a Mayfair bon vivant."
However, in a recent British Vogue interview, the cookbook author said when it comes to William and Kate, "I absolutely adore both of them," so perhaps he's stayed away from royal Christmas gatherings for other reasons.
When speaking about the rest of the royals, the food critic told People that "the York girls" Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice were "two of the nicest women you’d hope to meet.”
"We live in 2024 and blended families...If they’re happy then we’re happy and that’s where it all starts from,” he told People of his mother and stepfather.
Parker Bowles—who recently admitted that being Queen Camilla's son in the '90s was "incredibly dangerous" at times— shared that he, like many other families with divorced parents, holds a later Christmas celebration with his dad.
“My mother and father are still great friends and we will go down on December 27 and my mother will sometimes come,” he told People of his parents, who split in the '90s.
“It is something to work towards," Parker Bowles, who is divorced himself, added. "It’s a maturity that is a great thing if— despite a marriage sometimes not working—you can keep it together for the sake of the children and the sake of each other then it’s a very good thing."
