King Charles and Queen Camilla have been married for nearly 20 years but for a long time, the prospect of an official union between the pair seemed impossible given how unpopular then-Camilla Parker Bowles was with the public. In a bombshell sit-down with the BBC’s Panorama in 1995, the late Princess Diana had infamously declared Camilla to be the third person in her marriage, which made it “a little crowded” and had candidly explained the impact of her husband’s infidelity had on her mental health and the breakdown of her marriage to Charles.
However, with time, the public’s opinion of Camilla softened, and she and Charles finally tied the knot in 2005, in a civil ceremony in Windsor. This officially blended their two families and Prince William and Prince Harry gained two step-siblings, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, who have become long-standing regulars at royal events and enjoy high-profile careers. Tom, 49, and Laura, 46, are Queen Camilla’s children from her first marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles, which lasted from 1973 until 1995 when the couple officially divorced. Since Camilla and Charles married, both Tom and Laura have been regularly seen at major royal events, and attended the weddings of both Prince William in 2011 and Prince Harry in 2018.
Camilla already had a family of her own when she married Prince Charles ( Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Laura Lopes
An art curator and former journalist, Laura keeps a relatively low profile away from the royal spotlight but has enjoyed a lot of personal and professional success. She was educated at St Mary’s Shaftesbury – per Hello Magazine – a catholic all-girls boarding school, before attending Heywood Preparatory School. After school, she read History of Art and Marketing at Oxford Brookes University before forging her own career.
Camilla with her daughter Laura Lopes ( Image: Getty Images)
For a time, Laura worked as the motoring correspondent for Tatler Magazine, where her big brother Tom was also employed as a food columnist. She then started putting her degree to good use and moved to work in the art world – starting off by running The Space Gallery in London. She then went on to co-found London’s Eleven Gallery in 2005, where she held the position of director.
In 2006, she got married to former model Harry Lopes in a ceremony attended by her royal step-siblings. Lopes, a chartered accountant, was educated at Eton College and comes from an aristocratic background as the grandson of Massey Lopes, 2nd Baron Roborough.
The couple share three children, Eliza and twin brothers Gus and Louis – all of whom have played important roles at some of the most high-profile royal events in the last few years. Eliza was a bridesmaid at William and Kate’s wedding, and both Gus and Louis acted as Pages of Honour for Queen Camilla at her coronation alongside King Charles in May 2023.
Laura’s sons Gus and Louis acted as pages of honour during the coronation ( Image: Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 202)
Tom Parker Bowles
Tom Parker Bowles lives his life in the limelight a little more than his sister Laura, and is perhaps the better-known of Camilla’s two children. A well-known food critic and author, he was educated at Eton College before enrolling at Worcester College, Oxford University.
Camilla with son Tom Parker Bowles, who is launching a new cookbook ( Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Tom is a well-known food critic and writer ( Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Fortnum & Mason)
After he graduated he is reported to have worked in public relations before landing his first role as a food writer at Tatler magazine, this jumpstarted his career as a food critic, which has only gone from strength to strength. He has also written cookbooks and appeared on various food television programs where he has shared his expertise, including Masterchef.
In 2005 he married Sarah Buys, and the pair share two children, Lola – born in 2007 – and Frederick, born in 2010. The couple split up in 2018, and Tom reportedly began a new relationship with former journalist Alice Procope the following year. In 2021, Procope died at age 42 after being diagnosed with cancer only a few months before, an experience Tom called “brutal” to Vogue magazine.
Tom has said he “adores” his stepbrothers William and Harry ( Image: Getty Images)
Tom’s son Freddy also acted as a Page of Honour at the recent coronation alongside his cousins Gus and Louis, and the food critic has nothing but glowing praise for his step-father King Charles and his mother Camilla, with whom he shares a close bond. He also speaks highly of his stepbrothers, saying recently “I absolutely adore both of them” but noting “I keep out of it,” regarding the tension between the two brothers. The writer and television presenter has recently written a recipe book entitled Cooking and the Crown, looking back at many royal recipes. Vogue reports that he is a new relationship, but currently remaining tight-lipped about the identity of his partner.
