The Understandable Reason Queen Camilla Doesn't Cook for King Charles, According to Her Son

"I don't think there's a lot of, 'Honey, I'm home, what's for dinner?'"

Queen Camilla eating food, King Charles looking at food
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Queen Camilla is reportedly a very good cook, but don't expect to find her preparing her husband's meals.

During an event to promote his book, Cooking and The Crown: Royal Recipes From Queen Victoria to King Charles III, at Windsor's Castle Hotel, Queen Camilla's son, Tom Parker Bowles, opened up about King Charles's meal habits.

"I don't think she cooks for him, I'll be honest," he told the audience, via Hello! magazine. "They have a team of very good chefs." He did, however, admit that his mom cooks "a great roast chicken." Expanding on why Camilla doesn't typically cook for Charles, the author joked, "I don't think there's a lot of, 'Honey, I'm home, what's for dinner?' I think it's a bit more planned than that."

As for what King Charles enjoys eating, Parker Bowles shared, "He likes good—I don't want to speak out of turn here—but scrambled eggs and smoked salmon...who doesn't like scrambled eggs or roast chicken?"

Now that his mom is married to The King of England, Parker Bowles can't just drop by her home whenever he feels like it. "It takes a bit more planning now," he explained. "I probably would call or text. She can't do WhatsApp...which is probably a good thing because you can't send all those appalling things you get...But it's security."

Queen Camilla wears a royal blue dress and matching hat while King Charles wears a blue suit

"I don't think there's a lot of, 'Honey, I'm home, what's for dinner?'"

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Even though he can't turn up at Queen Camilla's front door, Parker Bowles claimed that his mom has a sixth sense when it comes to his location. "She's very sort of beady on these things," he explained. "She would know I was here and she would say, 'Come over,' without a shadow of a doubt."

Parker Bowles also expanded on the importance of food within international diplomacy, especially for the Royal Family. "This is food as soft diplomacy, or soufflé diplomacy," he joked. "It still happens to this day, to bring world leaders...to sit down and eat together. That is the unifying power of food, and that, for me, shows that diplomatic soft power."

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.