Tom Parker-Bowles has revealed the one big ‘myth’ about his mother Queen Camilla that just isn’t true – and it’s apparently a very common misconception.
Queen Camilla’s eldest child, 50, who is based in London, unveiled the truth about his mother in the podcast White Wine Question Time.
He told host Kate Thornton that while King Charles‘s wife is often pictured enjoying a glass of red wine at social engagements, he has ‘never even seen her tipsy’.
Parker-Bowles said there is a common ‘myth’ that Queen Camilla likes to ‘knock back a gin and tonic with a cigarette’.
However, the food critic said his mother ‘doesn’t drink gin’.
She does, admittedly, ‘enjoy a glass of red wine’, Parker-Bowles says, insisting his mother is a ‘sensible’ drinker.
He said he has never seen Queen Camilla tipsy – and she hasn’t smoked for 20 years.
Earlier in the podcast, Parker-Bowles revealed that not having a trust fund when he was younger ‘probably’ saved his life.
Tom Parker-Bowles has revealed the one big ‘myth’ about his mother Queen Camilla that just isn’t true – and it’s a very common misconception
Queen Camilla’s eldest child, 50, who is based in London, unveiled the truth about his mother in the podcast White Wine Question Time
He told Thornton that he had a trust fund and did not have to work for financial stability, his life would look very different.
‘Sadly, no trust fund. You know, actually, it’s a good thing not having a trust fund. I’d probably be dead if I’d had one,’ Tom said candidly on the podcast’s latest episode.
He added, ‘Obviously, I had to work like everyone. You know, you have to work. It’s important.
‘So, I stumbled somewhat into food writing, 25 years ago when the landscape was rather different.’
Before falling for food writing, Tom worked various jobs, including a brief stint in PR. He recalled, ‘I worked for a wonderful film PR company called DDA and they used to run Cannes and you’d be looking after talent.’
‘So you’d be taking Alicia Silverstone round London in the ’90s or Anna Friel or whatever. So it wasn’t exactly the most arduous task for a straight man. It wasn’t the most arduous of jobs, but I was always late.’
‘I’m still friends with my bosses, Stacey and Dennis, and they’re lovely people. But eventually, enough was enough. I got sacked… So anyway, I was sitting around thinking, you know, what the hell am I going to do?
Tom Parker-Bowles (seen at Cheltenham Festival in 2024) said he would ‘probably be dead’ if he had a trust fund
Tom later settled on food writing and is now a regular contributor to the Mail on Sunday and Country Life.
It comes after Tom recalled the embarrassing gaffe he made when he met Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.
The food critic was discussing his new book, Cooking & the Crown, which traces the history of royal culinary cuisine through the tastes and preferences of Britain’s king and queens.
Tom (seen with Camilla) revealed that he was fired from his job in a PR company when he was younger
Speaking to The Independent, Tom said the book was originally only going to include royal recipes and anecdotes between the reigns of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, giving him a ‘degree of separation’ since he had only met the late monarch twice.
The first time was when he was eight, Tom recalled, adding: ‘I was so scared that I curtsied rather than bowed.’
When greeting the monarch or a member of the royal family, men traditionally bow their heads (a neck bow) while women do a small curtsy.
The next time he would meet the late Queen would be on the occasion of Camilla’s wedding to King Charles, when he and his sister Laura Lopes ‘snuck out for a fag or something’ and got lost in Windsor Castle.
