Tom Parker Bowles might be Queen Camilla's son and The King's stepson, but it turns out his childhood—while marked by a few scary incidents with the press—was actually quite normal. While speaking to the Sunday Times, he revealed some facts about his royal mother, including her regular-person traveling habits.
“I haven’t flown with my mother for years, but when my sister and I were young it was always British Airways in economy,” he told the publication. Although his mom wasn't one to be seen in first class, Parker Bowles continued that The Queen "loves traveling."
One particular trip to Portugal, however, ended up being a "nightmare," he revealed. "It was just me, my mother, my sister and various other family members and friends—my parents were divorced by then. We were staying in this beautiful old house, but it sat in a cloud and everything was damp…and the cook turned out to be a News of the World plant, so there were paparazzi in the garden."
The Cooking And The Crown author admitted that the situation was "funny now, looking back on it, but it wasn’t much fun at the time."
Parker Bowles—who recently said stepdad King Charles could be "a fantastic food writer" if he wasn't on the throne—shared that the monarch wasn't exactly a fan of relaxing on vacation (or in general).
"My mother loves walking and I love walking, so we just wander off together," the food critic shared. "She hasn’t changed at all over the years: if you give her the sun and a book, she’s perfectly happy."
However, he continued that "The King loves walking too, but he’s the most hard-working man I’ve ever met. I don’t think he’s the sort of person who can just flop onto a deck chair and disappear into a book."
