Queen Camilla's Son Debunked One Big Rumor About His Royal Mother

Let's be real. Queen Consort Camilla doesn't have the best reputation among buzzing fans of the royal family. Over the years, she's been branded as "the villain" by British press over and over again, and the press and fans aren't alone in feeling this way. In a January 2023 exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper on "Prince Harry: The 60 Minutes Interview," (via CBS) Prince Harry told Anderson, "She [Camilla] was the villain. She was the third person in their marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image." Prince Harry even admits he and his brother, Prince William specifically asked their father not to marry Camilla.

With all of the tumultuous events that took place within the royal family throughout the last three decades, it's only natural for there to be so many outlandish rumors about Camilla. One of the biggest rumors is that she is an excessive drinker and smoker. The rumors are so prominent that even in the Emmy-nominated, "The Crown," her character is often portrayed with her holding a cigarette or a drink in her hand. Well, these longstanding rumors have finally been debunked by none other than her son, Tom Parker-Bowles.

In promotion of his new book, "Cooking & The Crown," Tom did an interview with the U.K.'s The Times in September of 2024. And, of course, as Camilla's son, questions about the queen consort were to be expected. Tom implied he was a big fan of "The Windsors," a sitcom based on the royal family, and he was fine with the portrayal of his mother being a drinker and smoker. However, he stated, that his mother "never drunk a glass of gin in her life. Doesn't smoke." As they say, speculation isn't always grounded in truth.

If anything, the one thing that is crystal clear is that King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla's relationship started on shaky ground. Even at the time of writing, Camilla continues to work hard to re-build her image so as not to be coined a villain, but instead, a queen worthy of her title. She's even grown on some fans of the royal family, but she's still got quite a journey left. The majority consensus appears to be that she's still not the most likable person despite all of her work in philanthropy, so sometimes one's first impression can be a lasting one.

Despite Prince Harry's sour relationship with the queen consort and the public's opinion, Prince William's relationship with Camilla is anything but sour. The queen consort actually gets along with most of the royal family. While she might not be likable, her genuine love for King Charles III and her unwavering loyalty to the royal family were huge factors in the late Queen and the public finally accepting her as King Charles III's lifelong partner. Some say with age, her warm, grandmotherly character has helped her image a ton, too. To support those claims, a YouGov popularity ranking showed that Camilla ranked 9th in "The Most Popular Royalty" poll in October 2024, so it's evident that after all of these years, Her PR firm's hard-work is seriously paying off.