Queen Camilla's son to spend Christmas with the royals at Sandringham for the first time: 'It has been a hell of a two years for them'
Queen Camilla's son Tom Parker Bowles says he will spend Christmas at Sandringham with the royal family for the first time.
The 50-year-old usually spends the festive season with his ex-wife, the former fashion editor Sara Buys, and their teenage children Lola and Frederick.
But this year, he is taking the family to Norfolk.
READ MORE: Kate shortlisted for Time's Most Influential Person of 2024
Queen Camilla and her son Tom Parker Bowles attend a reception at the Queen's reading room literary festival at Hampton Court Palace on June 8, 2024, in London. Getty
"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 told The Telegraph UK.
Parker Bowles is not sure which royals will be in attendance, apart from his mother and step-father King Charles.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three children, are expected to join the King and Queen at Sandringham on Christmas Day, according to The Mirror.
READ MORE: King said his 'mama' practised wearing coronation crown at bathtime
The King and Queen lead members of the royal family to church at Sandringham on Christmas morning on December 25 in 2023. Samir Hussein/WireImage
They will take part in the traditional walk to morning mass at St Mary Magdalene's Church on the estate, before having Christmas lunch at the main house.
Last year the King and Queen were joined by extended members of the Windsor clan including Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their children James, Earl of Wessex and Lady Louise, Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Zara and Mike Tindall and their children.
But Parker Bowles isn't sure who has made this year's guest list.
Tom Parker Bowles and his family will join the King and Queen at Sandringham for Christmas. Samir Hussein/WireImage
"I genuinely know nothing about it," he said.
"I know there's turkey and sprouts and church. And I have to bring a suit and a dinner jacket."
READ MORE: King 'fighting cancer battle very hard' William tells Donald Trump
There will be no Secret Santa, he said.
Parker Bowles has been part of the extended royal family since his mother married then-Prince Charles in 2005.
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, married in April 2005. Getty
He has just published his ninth book, but this is the first written specifically about the royal family.
Cooking and the Crown explores the dining habits of the royals, from Queen Victoria to Charles III.
He said the invitation to Christmas at Sandringham with the royals had always been there but Queen Camilla asked him to come this year following a challenging 2024.
"My mum said 'I'd love you to come, I haven't had Christmas with you for a long time,'" he said.
"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."
The Wales family are expected to attend Christmas at Sandringham this year. UK Press via Getty Images
In February King Charles was diagnosed with cancer and in March, the Princess of Wales revealed she, too, was battling cancer.
Both retreated from public life to undergo treatment.
The King returned to public-facing duties in April, while Kate returned to work in October after a few appearances throughout the year.
In recent weeks Queen Camilla has been forced to scale back her official duties due to a chest infection, which was later diagnosed as pneumonia.
"She went back to work before she should have done but she's fine," Parker Bowles said.
"She's tough. She hates that she missed Remembrance Sunday. That's a big day for her. She just gets on with it. She's always been like that. Sometimes you don't know where she is and you'll look at the telly and she'll be in Ireland.
"Nothing's changed [since she became Queen] except she's now Your Majesty, rather than Your Highness, and she works a lot harder."
His son Frederick was a page boy for the Queen at the coronation, along with his cousins Gus and Louis.
"It was a huge honour to be asked," he said.
"We'd do anything for our mother and stepfather. But suddenly to show them to an audience of two billion. Luckily it worked out beautifully.
"They were great, they did it, then they disappeared again. The children are protected at school. The worry comes when they leave school and go out into the big wide world."
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
Most viewed in Royals
King Charles III popularity plummets to lowest levels since ascension
Harry and Meghan taking break from public life so they don’t ‘overshadow the royal family’
Met Police refers itself to watchdog over handling of Thomas Markle allegations
Auction of royal jewels ‘inappropriate’ and ‘against everything the king stands for’
