Tom Parker Bowles, who is the son of Queen Camilla and stepson of King Charles, fought to save his Jack Russell called Maud following the dog attack in west London
Tom Parker Bowles — Queen Camilla’s son and King Charles’ stepson — bravely fought to save his dog after a 10stone mastiff attacked her, he has revealed.
The food writer, 50, said “all hell broke loose” when the large canine spotted little Jack Russell, called Maud, during a walk. The mastiff pulled away from their walker and tore into Maud. Tom said: “Within moments, the mastiff had his jaws locked deep into my tiny, less-than-one-stone terrier, who was shrieking with terror. Then came the most heartrending cry of pain. At this point, my memory goes rather hazy.”
But Tom said “pure instinct took over” during the encounter in Kensington, west London, earlier this month and he “launched myself on to the dog”. The gallant dad of two continued: “I knew Maud would be finished if the attacker could lift its head to shake her like a rag, or crush her like a furry Twiglet. I launched myself on to the dog, desperately trying to undo his jaws, which were locked, vice-like, on her soft white belly.”
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Crowds gathered as chaos ensued, and one man reportedly whacked the dog with his walking stick. The mastiff loosened its grip after around 30 seconds, a period which felt like hours to Tom. The food critic, one of two children to Queen Camilla, freed Maud, but she suffered gory injuries.
The pooch, who herself weighs less than one stone, needed two operations though she may bear psychological scars as well as those from her injuries. Tom alerted the police but doesn’t want the dog responsible put down. Writing for the Daily Mail, he said: “I don’t want the dog who attacked Maud put down, nor do I want to press charges. Emergency vet care is not cheap, but I’m lucky that Maud is covered by Petplan – which, so far, has been incredibly efficient. It’s not every day one says that about an insurance company. What I do want, though, is these big, powerful and often beautiful dogs to be muzzled when out in public. Is that too much to ask?
“I’m certainly not a fan of knee-jerk legislation, of banning certain breeds, or having them destroyed. I’d much rather put the responsibility on the owner.”
Earlier this year, police forces said they had recorded an huge spike in the number of dog attacks on people across the UK – and interactive maps showed which areas had seen the most incidents. The largest increase in the number of dog attacks was recorded by Cleveland Police, where they went up by a massive 163% between 2019 and 2024.
Tom’s experience has left the writer fearful of what could happen if large dogs attack a small child, which has been the case in recent years. The Mirror told how one girl — Amelia Bird — had 30 horrific wounds after she was attacked by a pack of dogs belonging to one man in Carrington, Greater Manchester last year.
“Maud is now on the mend, I hope, though not totally out of the woods yet. There is a very real prospect of further surgery,” Tom, who himself has two children, added in his piece for the Daily Mail.
