Queen Camilla will no doubt be spending Christmas this year at Sandringham with her husband, King Charles, and his family, but the royal won’t be joined by her own family.
Writing in the Daily Mail for his Eden Confidential, Richard Eden revealed that Camilla’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, has confirmed that both he and his sister, Laura Lopes, won’t be heading to Sandringham this year. “I’m not [spending Christmas at Sandringham],” Tom said. “Nor is my sister. It’ll be every other year, one year on, one year off.”
“It’s back to the sofa at my ex-wife’s,” Tom joked.
Between 2005 and 2022, Tom was married to magazine editor Sara Buys, with the pair first getting together back in 2000. In 2007, the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Lola, and in 2010, they had a son, Frederick. In 2018, Tom and Sara separated, with their divorce being finalised in 2022.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2023 about their divorce, Sara mused: “Of course you feel guilty for ever hurting your kids, that’s never going to go away, and I would rather we had stayed together as a family. But fortunately, I’ve arrived at the conclusion that these things just happen.”
Christmas with the royals
Tom and Laura first stayed at Sandringham with their mother for Christmas last year, following King Charles’ cancer diagnosis. Although they didn’t take part in the annual walkabout, the brother and sister were present at the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church.
The pair attended following a request from their mother. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Tom explained: “My mum said, ‘I’d love you to come, I haven’t had Christmas with you for a long time’.”
Reflecting on his usual festive holiday routine, he added: “For the past 15 years, it has been: I go back to my ex-wife’s house, sit in my tracksuit bottoms, go to the pub while the beef’s in, then try to get my children to watch The Wild Geese. Classic. So this would be a bit different.”
Speaking about what he expected from Christmas with the royals, Tom said: “I know there’s turkey and sprouts and church. And I have to bring a suit and a dinner jacket.”
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