Tom Parker Bowles has spoken about his devotion to his mother and Queen Camilla

Tom Parker Bowles, son of Queen Camilla, is a food writer and Restaurant critic for 24 years. Until now, I’ve avoided talking about the royal family, much less writing about it. But in his latest book, Cook and crown. Royal recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles IIIReveals in detail the eating habits and gastronomic preferences of the British royal family. “I knew I was putting my head in a lion’s mouth, but if I can’t do it now, after a quarter of writing about food, when will I be able to?” to recognize

“I didn’t want to blurt out a statement like: “Guys, this is my story about how kings eat.”. I also didn’t want to, “Oh, look at me, aren’t I lucky? I have access to all this and you don’t.” Although, of course, in some circles this would be seen as nepotism,” he says sympathetically.

Meet with Tom Hello! One of his favorite London restaurants for a coffee. Your company is very pleasant. He is someone who is eloquent, self-critical and has a great sense of humor, a trait he owes to Camilla, his mother, who is “very good at laughing at inappropriate moments,” he tells us. One of the many things Tom is grateful for is having a sense of humor. “Sometimes at dinner she likes to get your attention and she gives you a pointed look or rolls her eyes and it makes you smile. “He manages to inject his sense of humor into almost everything.”

© Katie Wilson/The Times

On the King and Queen as a team: “They get along very well. They work well together and we’re happy that our mother is happy.”

Real recipe

book of tom, Cook and crown (Kitchen and Crown) fuses the passage of history with recipes, including some from his mother Presents food related to all sovereignsFrom Queen Victoria to the present King Charles.

Inspired by a book Camilla gave him, written by a royal chef who served four monarchs, his original idea was to end up with Queen Elizabeth II, whom he met twice. The first time, he says, took place when he was still very young. Nervousness causes him to be bowed down instead of bowed down. The second was at her mother’s wedding (to the then Prince of Wales, in 2005), when she was lost at Windsor Castle with her sister. “And suddenly, there he was, the great woman said: “Let’s go.” “We were both terrified and overwhelmed.”

When Elizabeth II dies in September 2022 and Prince Charles becomes king, Tom thinks that “I couldn’t write a book about royal food without including it.”. But first he had to get permission. “It would not have been possible without the palace and the king”He said, and described the emperor “Kindest, most knowledgeable and charming man. He’s someone you can talk to about food and it’s like attending a lecture by an academic.”

After working as PR for Hollywood stars, she was fired. He landed a column about food in a magazine and thus began his successful career.

© Getty

© Getty

There are no facilities

Regarding the king and queen as a group, he observes: “They mate very well. They work well together and we’re happy that our mom is happy.”. Tom insists that he has not been given special access to the archive material he unearths, uncovering some startling details: Edward VII’s eleven-year-old lobster extravaganza, as well as some myths, including the ‘exciting’ ‘queen’. Victoria’s appetite (who was actually quite a glutton).

It wasn’t all “Roasted Puff Pastry and Lark’s Tongue.” From Victoria, there was an appreciation of good, typical British food.

Ate in the palace “surprisingly little”Occasionally at Clarence House, at some of Charles’s birthday parties and at the coronation dinner. Tom, 49, attended with his sister, art dealer Laura Lopes, 46, and some of their children —FreddieTom’s 14-year-old son, as well Gus and LouieLaura’s twins, of the same age, who served as pages of honor—. In addition to Freddie, Tom has a 17-year-old daughter, Lola, with his ex-wife, fashion editor Sara Buice.

“My mother doesn’t drink gin and she hasn’t smoked for years,” he says, referring to the caricatures of heavy smokers and drinkers that have built up around Camilla over the years. reveals that he takes it with humor

© Getty

© Anwar Hussain Collection/ROTA

In royal candlesticks

Her mother’s transition to queenship was gradual. From her engagement, when she was initially a bodyguard, to her marriage to the title of Duchess of Cornwall and finally to being crowned Queen. Camilla’s role, as it gradually evolved, made it easier for Tom to adapt to his mother’s new status. “I come from a very comfortable family”said Tom, whose father is retired army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, whom Camilla married in 1973 and divorced in 1995. “We all gather around the table. We all like food and we all like to drink.”

“Although no, my mother doesn’t drink gin and hasn’t smoked for years”He said, referring to the chain-smoking, heavy-drinking caricature built around Camilla over the years: “There’s a picture of him smoking a cigarette a few years ago. He takes it with good humor as always.”

Together we are stronger

Tom enjoyed what he described as a “Beautiful and Happy English Learning” In Wiltshire, with great food; Her mother’s specialty was roast chicken. After studying at Eton and Oxford University, his career began not in the world of gastronomy, but as PR in the film industry, where he visited and served Hollywood stars. “I took them out for fun. It was the ’90s, so everything was very different. I got into all kinds of trouble,” Duck was fired from his job for “missing too many meetings” and eventually landed a food column in a magazine, thus launching his successful career.

In 1995, Camila’s affair with Carlos became known and Tom became the target of public scrutiny. “When it was all happening, I was at Eton. I was surrounded by people whose parents were in the news – princes and dukes – and when it was happening, I was 17 or 18, so I was quite old, so it never occurred to me. A problem has occurred” she insists.

“Family is everything,” he says. “You see with the Middletons as well, in our family, when things start to go wrong, you go to her,” he said, referring to the strong bond shared between the Princess of Wales and her parents and siblings.

“Family is everything,” she said, “as you see with Middleton, with our family, when things start to go wrong, you go to him.”He said, referring to the strong bond shared between the Princess of Wales and her parents and siblings. However, you still need the resilience to withstand such intense scrutiny: “My sister and I were always confident because we had a loving family that gave us security.”. He often feels protective of his mother, given “The Aggressiveness of the Paparazzi”The screams, the noise and the fact that he had no network to protect him. “I remember the high-speed chase on the highway that was incredibly dangerous.”

Have you ever been angry or upset with him? “No. Never, never. She has always been—and it’s not just an image—a great mother.”. He was “incredulous”, for example, when Tom’s girlfriend, journalist Alice Prokop, died of cancer in 2021. “That’s when you really need a mom and a dad, when the going gets tough. And now, because of that, we’re always there for him, because he’s always there for us.”

Now, Tom maintains one “Very Happy Relationship” With his current girlfriend. She’s also been smart about her health, drinking and eating less and taking Pilates classes. “Everyone else is 20 years old and toned and sculpted.”He says sarcastically. Despite his frequent television appearances masterchefwhere he is a juror, and Saturday kitchenHe has no intention of headlining his own show. He is thinking of writing his first novel. “An old-time thriller”But there is a hitch: “I am waiting for the “end date”.So I rarely do it,” he says with a resigned, but happy smile. “For me, heaven is looking at my diary and realizing that I have a whole week to spare, except for some writing and some food.”

© Dave Bennett

Referring to Camilla: “She’s always been a good mother. She’s always there for us.”

Real recipe

Queen Mother’s Gin and Dubnet

Despite the vast and well-stocked wine cellars of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, sovereigns from Queen Victoria to King Charles III were not (and are not) big drinkers. And although the Queen Mother is fondly remembered for her penchant for the odd drink and never went thirsty for her sumptuous lunches, it was her spirit of generosity. the hostess. Next: A cocktail much admired by both the late Queen and the Queen Mother, drunk before lunch. It has an exciting blend of sweet and sour flavors.

A glass:

• 2 part Dubonnet

• 1 part gin

• 4 ice cubes

• 1 slice lemon

Pour the drink into a glass with ice and mix well. Garnish with lemon wedges.