Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles has revealed that having to make his own way financially and not lean on his parents for support probably “saved his life”
Queen Camilla’s son, Tom Parker-Bowles, has made a candid admission about his finances, revealing that growing up without a trust fund probably “saved his life”. The eldest child of the Queen spoke frankly on the White Wine Question Time podcast about his dedication to his work ethic, which he has been fostering since he was a teenager.
Tom admitted to podcast host Kate Thornton that if he had grown up with a trust fund and had not been driven to work, his life today would look very different, as he was forced to learn the value of hard work and financial literacy, and work “just like everyone else”.
“Sadly, no trust fund. You know, actually, it’s a good thing not having a trust fund. I’d probably be dead if I’d had one,” Tom said. “Obviously, I had to work like everyone. You know, you have to work. It’s important. So, I stumbled somewhat into food writing, 25 years ago when the landscape was rather different.”
Before finding his passion for food writing, Tom worked numerous jobs while he found his career footing. He had a brief stint in the PR world, as he recalled: “I worked for a wonderful film PR company called DDA and they used to run Cannes and you’d be looking after talent.
“So you’d be taking Alicia Silverstone round London in the ’90s or Anna Friel or whatever. So it wasn’t exactly the most arduous task for a straight man. It wasn’t the most arduous of jobs, but I was always late.
“I’m still friends with my bosses, Stacey and Dennis, and they’re lovely people. But eventually, enough was enough. I got sacked… So anyway, I was sitting around thinking, you know, what the hell am I going to do?”
Tom then found his passion for food writing and published nine cookbooks, and is still a regular contributor to Mail on Sunday and Country Life.
Elsewhere in the podcast, Tom made a candid admission about his mother and how it was “never her aim” to be Queen, while also praising the relationship between Charles and Camilla.
He said: “As I’ve said before, you know, with my mother – it was never her aim. It was just a story of two people who loved each other. And as you get older, you’re happy that your father’s happy, that your mother’s happy, that your stepfather is happy. You know, that’s what matters.”
Tom also said that “not in a million years” did he expect his mother to become Queen, but is ‘proud’ of her and all she has done for the monarchy.
