Camilla had no end game to be Queen, insists son
The Queen Consort's son has insisted Camilla did not have "any sort of end game" to become Queen. Speaking on the News Agents podcast, Tom Parker Bowles said his mother "just married the person she loved". His remarks counter allegations by the Duke of Sussex, who wrote that Camilla played "the long game" with a campaign aimed at marriage and "the crown". Camilla will be crowned alongside King Charles at the coronation on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London. Mr Parker Bowles told hosts Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel: "I think change happens but I don't care what anyone says - this wasn't any sort of end game. "She married the person she loved and this is what happened." Asked if it was weird to think of Camilla as "the Queen", Mr Parker Bowles, who is a food writer and critic, said: "Not really because she's still our mother. I say 'our' but not the royal 'we', speaking for my sister and me. She's our mother." Mr Parker Bowles, and his sister Laura Lopes, are Camilla's children from her marriage to retired British military officer Andrew Parker Bowles. Camilla got divorced in 1995 and later married Charles in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall in April 2005. Prince Harry made headlines at the beginning of the year for what many saw as a scathing attack of his stepmother's character. In interviews to promote his memoir, Spare , Harry called Camilla a "villain" and spoke of bodies being "left in the street" during her image rehabilitation. He described how he and his brother, Prince William, pleaded with their father not to marry her, saying: "He didn't answer. "But she answered. Straight away. Shortly after our private summits with her, she began to play the long game. "A campaign aimed at marriage, and eventually the crown, with Pa's blessing we presumed." Asked if his mother would be anxious ahead of the coronation, Mr Parker Bowles said it was "tough" to take on such a role during the ceremony but "she's never complained". "I think anyone would be anxious on an occasion of this sort of importance in terms of the historical. And yes, I think I'd be terrified if I had to sort of walk out wearing ancient robes..." he said. Mr Parker Bowles's youngest child, Freddy Parker Bowles, will take part in the ceremony as a "page of honour" , alongside his cousins Gus and Louis Lopes, and Prince George, the King's grandson. Anti-monarchy group Republic is reportedly set to protest at the coronation by lining the procession route and gathering in Trafalgar Square. Asked whether he was worried about the demonstrations, Mr Parker Bowles said: "We live in, thankfully, a free country... If people want to protest that's their right to do so." The full interview with Mr Parker Bowles is available on The News Agents podcast on Global Player later. 'Queen Camilla' title debuts on coronation invite Tom Parker Bowles on family criticism Does King Charles need a coronation? Morocco rescuers dig with bare hands as foreign aid sent US denies Cold War with China in historic Vietnam visit How Russia and West agreed on Ukraine G20 language How Russia and West agreed on Ukraine G20 language US denies Cold War with China in historic Vietnam visit 'Everyone in this village is either dead or missing' A Serbian scientist's long quest to name Srebrenica's dead How chronic pain feels for me. Video How chronic pain feels for me Guyana scrambles to make the most of oil wealth The spongy creatures cleaning Zanzibar's oceans. Video The spongy creatures cleaning Zanzibar's oceans Inside a 'hijacked' South African building. Video Inside a 'hijacked' South African building The rise and fall of a parenting influencer Florida's first hurricane-proof town The greatest spy novel ever written? Why is everyone crazy about Aperol? 2023 BBC.