As Queen Camilla prepares to host her family for Christmas at Sandringham for the first time, she also marked a significant occasion earlier this week.
Camilla, 77, shares two children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, with her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. On 18 December, her son Tom celebrated his 50th birthday. Speaking to The Telegraph, the food critic and author revealed he is “planning a couple of lunches to celebrate” the milestone.
Tom shares two children, Lola, 17, and Freddy, 14, with his ex-wife, fashion editor Sara Buys. Known for his culinary expertise, Tom has written several cookbooks, including his latest, Cooking and the Crown, which explores recipes from Queen Victoria’s reign to King Charles’s.
In an interview with HELLO! in October, Tom shared that he had made lifestyle changes ahead of turning 50, including eating and drinking less and taking up Pilates. “Everyone else is 20 and toned and chiselled,” he joked about his Pilates classmates. “Sometimes I’m the only bloke there, so I sit in the corner.”
Born in London in 1974, Thomas Henry Charles Parker Bowles is the eldest child of Camilla and Andrew. He spent his childhood in Wiltshire at Bolehyde Manor and later Middlewick House, alongside his younger sister Laura, an artist born four years later.
Camilla and Andrew divorced in 1995 following extramarital affairs on both sides, with Camilla rekindling her relationship with then-Prince Charles. Camilla and Charles eventually married in 2005, with Tom, Laura, and Princes William and Harry in attendance.
Tom’s education included Summer Fields School in Oxford, Heywood Preparatory School, and Eton College, followed by English studies at Worcester College, Oxford, where he joined the Piers Gaveston dining society.
After university, Tom began his career as a junior publicist at Dennis Davidson Associates before becoming Tatler’s food columnist in 2001. Over the years, he has authored nine cookbooks, contributed to numerous publications, and appeared on various TV and radio programs.
In 2005, Tom married Sara Buys in Oxfordshire, with Princes William and Harry among the guests. The couple separated in 2018 and finalized their divorce in 2022. Tom has since been in a relationship for four years and resides in North Kensington.
This festive season, Camilla will reunite with her family, celebrating both Christmas and her son’s milestone year.
