Queen Camilla’s Son Opens up About His Mother’s Reputation as a Heavy Drinker and Chain Smoker and Why He Doesn’t Always Agree With Her
Queen Camilla (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles) may have more respect now as the monarch’s wife than she did in past years. But there are some things about her reputation she hasn’t been able to shake.
Of course, the dark cloud of her role as King Charles’ mistress while he was married to Princess Diana will always follow her and be in the back of people’s minds. But there are a couple of other labels she has picked up and now her son, Tom Parker Bowles, is speaking about those. He’s also sharing the exact reason he and his mom don’t agree all the time.
Tom Parker Bowles reveals good reason he doesn’t always agree with his mother
Tom is the son of Camilla and her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles. He’s now the stepson of King Charles and while he certainly isn’t in the limelight as much as his stepbrothers, Tom has spent time in the spotlight as he has appeared on food-related TV shows and is a regular on MasterChef. He’s also given interviews during promotional tours for some of his cookbooks. The writer and food critic has authored several books and his latest is titled Cooking & The Crown.
During an interview with The Times for his new book, Tom talked about his relationship with his mom and how they don’t agree on everything for good reason.
“If anyone ever meets my mother, they always … I mean, a son would say this, but she’s someone I love going to have dinner with. And I go for a walk with her in Scotland,” he shared. “You’re always going to have your rows, differences of opinion. It would be very odd if we agreed [on] everything. Creepy. I certainly would annoy her sometimes.”
Tom sets the record straight about Queen Camilla’s reputation for drinking and smoking
Tom says he’s heard before about his mother being perceived as a heavy drinker, specifically of gin, and a chain smoker due to how she’s been portrayed in shows like The Crown and The Windsors. He decided to set the record straight about those things, insisting: “My mother hardly drinks. Never seen her so much as tipsy … She has never drunk a glass of gin in her life [and] doesn’t smoke.”
Tom is correct that the queen does not smoke now, but Camilla was a smoker for 30 years. She reportedly used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. King Charles asked her to give it up because he absolutely hated it. When she was ready to quit, she enlisted the help of health guru Mosaraf Ali and was able to kick the habit for good in 2001.
Tom also admitted that he used to smoke when he was a student at Eton College, recalling, “Used to collect Marlboro pack tops to get [prizes]. Marlboro Zippos. The ultimate was the Marlboro leather jacket, which no one ever got. This was the end of the ’80s.”
