Camilla's son says she has 'no end game' in marrying King Charles III

Tom Parker Bowles says his mother, Queen Consort Camilla, married King Charles III because she loves him and not for anything else.

The food writer and critic commented about the upcoming coronation during a discussion about the food and pomp surrounding the ceremony on the Apple News podcast "The News Agents" on Thursday. When co-host Emily Maitlis asked if it feels strange to call his mother "Queen" he replied, "Not really, because she's still our mother."

Bowles and his sister Laura Lopes are Queen Consort Camilla's children from her previous marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles. Talking about their mother, the 48-year-old reiterated, "She's our mother. Change happens but I don't care what anyone says — this wasn't any sort of end game. She married the person she loved, and this is what happened."

Asked if his mother is anxious ahead of the coronation, he admitted, "I think anyone would be anxious on an occasion of this sort of importance in terms of the historical. And yes, I think I'd be terrified if I had to sort of walk out wearing ancient robes...She's 75, but you know, it's tough to do it. But she's never complained. You just do it. get on with it."

Bowles also praised King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla saying "they're doing amazingly" and calls the monarch "a good, kind, intelligent man who cares deeply about his roles wherever they may be, Prince of Wales, the King." He also thinks it is "appalling" if he will be called a duke following his mother's coronation.

The 75-year-old Duchess of Cornwall will be formally crowned Queen alongside King Charles III in a ceremony attended by 2,000 guests in London's Westminster Abbey on May 6. Joining her during the procession are her three grandsons, Master Gus and Master Louis Lopes, and Master Freddy Parker Bowles, 13, who will serve as her Pages of Honour along with her great-nephew Master Arthur Elliot.

Bowles said he does not think that his child Freddy "knows quite how big it's going to be" and "has a sense of the occasion" when asked if his son is excited about the coronation. He explained, "He's a 13-year-old boy who loves football. We're just there to support our mother. I'm no expert on this."

As for King Charles III, his eldest grandson Prince George will serve as his Page of Honour along with other boys of similar age. They include Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, Master Nicholas Barclay, and Master Ralph Tollemache.

Speaking about having the grandchildren as Pages of Honour, royal author Hugo Vickers told The Times, "It's a lovely idea to involve their own family members in these roles, rather than having aristocrats' sons and daughters doing it. It is all part of the inclusivity of the family and strengthens their bonds."

Meanwhile, Bowles saying that his mother does not have an "end game" when she married King Charles III seems to refute Prince Harry's accusations about his stepmother. He claimed that she married into the royal family knowing full well that she was going to become Queen one day.

In his memoir "Spare," he revealed that he and his brother Prince William were against their father marrying the Duchess of Cornwall although they supported their relationship. He wrote that marriage would "make the whole country, the whole world, talk about Mummy, compare Mummy and Camilla, and nobody wanted that. Least of all Camilla."

He added, "Shortly after our private summits with [Camilla], she began to play the long game, a campaign aimed at marriage and eventually the Crown, with Pa's blessing we presumed." Prince Harry will be at the coronation although it is unclear what he feels now about Camilla becoming Queen.