Reason Queen Camilla's children won't be spending Christmas with the royal family
Both celebrated at Sandringham last yearQueen Camilla’s children have revealed that they won’t be spending Christmas with their mother this year.
Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes both joined the royal festivities at Sandringham last year, with their children in tow. But it appears this time round they have made other arrangements.
Queen Camilla spent Christmas 2024 with her children
Last Christmas, food writer Tom discussed his holiday plans with the Telegraph. The 50-year-old shared that it would be his first time taking his kids down to Norfolk for the big day.
Tom shares two teenage children, Lola and Frederick, with his ex-wife Sara, from whom he divorced in 2018.
“For the past 15 years it has been: I go back to my ex-wife’s house, sit in my tracksuit bottoms, go to the pub while the beef’s in, then try to get my children to watch The Wild Geese. Classic. So this would be a bit different,” he said last December.
It’ll be every other year, one year on, one year off.
He added that while the invitation had always been there, his mother had made a specific appeal to him following a difficult year for the royal family.
Both King Charles and the Princess of Wales were of course diagnosed with cancer last year. Queen Camilla was also hit by a bout of pneumonia in the lead up to Christmas, after returning from a major tour of Australia and Samoa.
“My mum said ‘I’d love you to come, I haven’t had Christmas with you for a long time,'” he told the newspaper.
“It has been a hell of a two years for them. The older you get, the more conscious you become of mortality, especially with illnesses and the rest of it.”
Camilla’s daughter, Laura, 47, is also believed to have celebrated with the royals. The art curator also has teenage children, a daughter, Eliza, and twin sons, Gus and Louis, with her husband Harry Lopes.
All change for 2025
However, it seems the pair aren’t in a hurry to make Christmas at Sandringham an annual tradition.
In conversation with the Daily Mail‘s Richard Eden, Tom recently shared that neither he nor Laura will be returning to the royal Norfolk residence this festive season.
“I’m not [spending Christmas at Sandringham], nor is my sister,” Tom revealed, explaining: “It’ll be every other year, one year on, one year off.”
He then added: “It’s back to the sofa at my ex-wife’s.”
In spite of their royal links, Tom and Laura seem keen to avoid the limelight. Many royal fans may have missed the siblings at Sandringham last year, as they reportedly slipped into the Christmas Day church service via a private entrance, avoiding crowds and photographers.
Read more: King Charles and Queen Camilla unveil 2025 Christmas card with romantic link
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