Though Prince William and Prince Harry are often presented as a twosome, the princes actually have another pair of siblings who they never speak about publicly. Before their stepmother Camilla Parker Bowles married into the family, she had two children with her first husband, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes. The pair may have attended their mother’s wedding to Prince Charles, but they’ve largely kept out of the spotlight, and we know why.
The Little Known Step-Siblings To Royalty
In 2005, the British royal family gained a new member in Prince Charles’ long-time love, Camilla Parker Bowles. Through her, two more people became unofficial members of the world’s most recognizable family, although they won’t be seen at the numerous royal functions that take place.
The Duchess of Cornwall shares two adult children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, with her ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles, but the two are rarely seen in public. It’s even rarer for a member of the royal family to mention them. Prince William and Prince Harry never mention their step-siblings during public appearances, and there’s a good reason why.
Who Are Laura Lopes, Tom Parker Bowles?
Tom and Laura have a lot in common with their royal step-brothers. All four are parents, with Laura having three children, like William, and Tom having a boy and a girl, just like Harry. Unlike their royal counterparts, however, neither Tom nor Laura are public figures. They’ve deftly avoided the royal spotlight, despite Tom having a career as a professional food critic and cookbook author. He’s even been on MasterChef, but you won’t catch him at royal events.
Their Last Time At A Royal Event
Tom’s sister Laura also avoids those public events, though that doesn’t mean that there are hard feelings between her and her royally connected step-siblings. In 2006, when she got hitched, both Harry and William were in attendance. Likewise, when William got married to Kate Middleton in 2011, Laura’s oldest daughter Eliza served as a bridesmaid.
If there’s no bad blood, then why don’t Prince William or Harry mention them in public? It’s really rather simple. Both Tom and Laura, despite their high-profile connections, are private citizens and clearly prefer their lives that way. With their mother being who she is, scrutiny is mostly unavoidable. Tom spoke in the past about living through his mother’s affair with Prince Charles and the constant tabloid coverage of it.
A Close Mother-Son Bond
In an interview in 2014, Tom admitted that he felt “pissed” when he thought about the leaked 1993 call between Camilla and Charles that confirmed rumors of their affair. “I sort of remember not looking at the paper,” he recalled, “Because, you know, Jesus, the things that we’ve all said to people that we love…that you wouldn’t want the world reading. I just felt pissed off.”
He added, “I wasn’t going to read that sort of stuff about my mother, just as much as she wouldn’t want to read it about me or my kids certainly wouldn’t want to read it about me.” It’s completely understandable for a person who has lived under this sort of scrutiny to try and avoid it himself at all costs. No wonder his step-brothers politely refrain from bringing him up in public.
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