Prince Harry and Prince William’s two step-siblings aren’t exactly under wraps, however, not many people are aware of them because the princes’ step-siblings prefer to keep things pretty low-key.
Meet Laura Lopes, age 44, and Tom Parker Bowles, 47, the millionaire children from Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall’s first marriage to ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles before Prince Charles. Though Laura Lopes and Tom’s lives are pretty ordinary, they are self-made and successful. They are classy people, yet discreet.
The Step-Siblings’ Relationship
Prince Harry and Prince William’s stepbrother and stepsister live relatively normal lives and prefer to avoid the spotlight of the royal family. Nonetheless, Laura and Tom have been involved in their royal step-siblings’ lives. William, Kate, and Harry attended Laura’s wedding in 2006, while Laura’s daughter, Eliza was one of the bridesmaids at William and Kate’s wedding in 2011. Both step-siblings attended William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011 as well as Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018.
Katie Nicholl, a royal expert and author of “William and Harry, Behind The Palace Walls” wrote in the 2010 biography that William and Laura would often bicker over who was to blame for their broken families. William blamed Laura’s mother, Camilla, for the hurt his mother Diana endured while Laura retaliated and blamed Prince Charles for ruining their lives and breaking up her parents’ marriage.
As Laura and Tom grew up, they reportedly patched up and got along well with their royal stepbrothers.
Tom Parker Bowles Titbits
Born on 18 December 1974, Tom Parker Bowles attended Eton College and Worcester College in Oxford. He was a junior publicist for Dennis Davidson Associates public relations firm before he became Tatler’s food columnist. From 2001 to date he has been a food critic and writer, and broadcaster. Tom wrote eight cookbooks and in 2010, won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for his writings on British food. He is well known for his reviews of restaurant meals around the UK and overseas, regularly appears on Masterchef, and has appeared as a judge in several television food series.
Tom has two children (daughter Lola born in 2007 and son Frederick in 2010) with ex-wife Sara Buys, an associate editor of Harpers & Queen magazine and senior editor of British Town & Country magazine. Tom and Sara headed for splitsville in 2018.
Tom started dating former journalist Alice Procope in 2019 but sadly, Alice died in 2021 seven months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Image credit – South China Morning Post
Laura Lopes Titbits
Laura Lopes was a 1978 New Year’s Day baby. She attended a Catholic boarding school for girls in Dorset before pursuing a degree in art history and marketing at Oxford Brookes University. Upon graduation, Laura spent three months as an intern at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice before taking a turn as a motoring correspondent for Tatler in 2001.
In the mid-2000s, Laura managed The Space Gallery in London’s Belgravia area and in October 2005 became a co-founding partner and gallery director of London’s Eleven gallery.
Laura tied the knot with former Calvin Klein model-turned-chartered accountant Harry Lopes on 6 May 2006. They both have three children, daughter Eliza, 14, and 12-year-old twin boys, Gus and Louis. Harry is a scion of the super-affluent Astor family.
Image credit – South China Morning Post
Image credit – South China Morning Post
Private Citizens But Worth Millions
Tom and Laura live pretty normal lives despite their mother’s marriage to Prince Charles, the future King of Britain. Queen Elizabeth has recently expressed her “sincere wish” that Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall be named Queen Consort when her eldest son, Prince Charles ascends the throne.
Though Tom and Laura are private citizens and prefer to be away from the media’s radar, they’re worth millions. Tom has an estimated worth of US$9 million as a non-fiction author and TV show host while Laura has an estimated worth of US$1 million to US$5 million as an art curator. She could soon become the owner of two stately homes when her husband inherits both Gnaton Hall in Devon and Skelpick Estate in the Scottish Highlands.
So, there we have it – the interesting story of Prince Harry and Prince William’s lesser-known step-siblings.
Lastly, here’s a happy family snap of the British royal family taken on Prince Charles and Camilla’s royal wedding day in 2005.
(Left to right front row) Duke of Edinburgh, HM The Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla’s father Major Bruce Shand
Image credit – Marie Claire
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