Duchess Camilla’s son Tom reveals how the royal spends Christmas

What a sweet tradition!

duchess camilla son tom reveals royal christmas festivities
(Image credit: Getty)

Duchess Camilla’s son Tom has revealed how the royal spends Christmas. Prince Charles’ stepson gave personal insight into the holiday.

Duchess Camilla apparently knows her way around the kitchen quite well.

The stepson of heir apparent Prince Charles, Tom Parker Bowles, has dished insider knowledge of how the glamourous Duchess spends the festive season – and in particular what she gets up to on the big day.

Speaking about memories of how the family spent the day when he was younger, Tom revealed that his mother was quite a dab hand in the kitchen, saying that she would prepare an oversized turkey squeezed into the oven for the family to feast on.

duchess camilla son tom reveals royal christmas festivities

“She and my aunt Annabel would struggle to get it in,” the food writer told The New York Post, revealing that the Duchess would be down in the kitchen at 7am on Christmas morning. “It was quite the tradition.”

“Despite the occasional kitchen mishap, my mother was an excellent chef,” he added, speaking about how her cooking has influenced his new book Christmas & Other Winter Feasts. “Before she married my stepfather [Prince Charles] she was always in charge of the cooking.”

“There’s something magical and lovely about British food at Christmas,” Tom continued. “It’s comforting, and perfect for entertaining on cold winter days.”

duchess camilla son tom reveals royal christmas festivities

Tom revealed how despite the fact that Camilla now spends December 25th in Sandringham with the Queen, he and his family do still get to see her on the big day.

He says that he and his sister along with their own children and their father, Andrew Parker Bowles, meet at his house in London, where after lunch they “all slump in front of the telly and watch James Bond.

“The celebration is about as British as you can get.”

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Tom then added that they see the Duchess in the evening, saying, “we usually go up to her house from London and she cooks us scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.”

“She makes a huge pot with lots of butter and they’re perfect.”

Aleesha Badkar

Aleesha is a digital shopping writer at woman&home—so whether you're looking for beauty, fashion, health or home buys, she knows what the best buys are at any moment. She earned an MA in Magazine Journalism from City, University of London in 2017 and has since worked with a number of brands including Women's Health, Stylist and Goodto. A year on the w&h news team gained her invaluable insight into where to get the best lifestyle releases first—as well as an AOP awards nomination.