Tom Parker Bowles Shares How Queen Camilla Is Doing Amid King Charles' Cancer Treatment: ‘She’s Tough, My Mother’

Mar. 15, 2025

King Charles and Queen Camilla pose for an official portrait to celebrate Wales Week 2019 taken at their Welsh residence Llwynywormwood on July 2, 2019 in Myddfai, Wales and Tom Parker Bowles attending the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards 2024 at The Royal Exchange on May 2, 2024 in London, England.Photo:Chris Jackson/Getty; Dave Benett/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty; Dave Benett/Getty

Tom Parker Bowles is giving an update on his mother,Queen Camilla, and his stepfather,King Charles, as the monarch continues treatment for cancer.

While promoting his forthcoming bookCooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III, Parker Bowles said of the King that his “treatment is going well,” according to theDaily Express, and that his mother the Queen was faring well, too, adding, “She’s tough, my mother.”

The King was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer earlier this year, and announced it publicly on Feb. 5. He returned topublic facing workon April 30, and the King and Queen are currently preparing for the first international royal tour since the King began outpatient treatment following his diagnosis.

The King, 75, and the Queen, 77, will travel to both Australia and Samoa next month, arriving in Australia on Oct. 18 before heading to Samoa six days later for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) before returning to the UK on Oct. 26.

“We’ve had to, as you would with any visit, think about how you can ensure Their Majesties’ energies are preserved to be at their best,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, adding, “There had been some hope earlier in the year for Their Majesties to be able to visit New Zealand and, on doctors’ advice, that unfortunately wasn’t able to take place. We’ve had to make some tough decisions with the Australian Government where [Their Majesties] can get to.”

After a January procedure to treat abenign enlarged prostate, the King announced his cancer diagnosis on Feb. 5. At the time, a spokesperson clarified he does not haveprostate cancer.

After hisreturn to forward facing workwas announced in late April, Buckingham Palace described the King’s treatment as ongoing and shared a positive update, saying at the time that “His Majesty’s treatment program will continue, but doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far that the King is now able to resume a number of public facing duties. Forthcoming engagements will be adapted where necessary to minimize any risks to His Majesty’s continued recovery.”

In a Sept. 10 update,Buckingham Palace further sharedthat “In both countries, Their Majesties’ engagements will focus on themes designed to celebrate the best of Australia and Samoa, as well as reflecting aspects of the King and Queen’s work.”

In addition to revelations about how King Charles and Queen Camilla are faring amid his diagnosis, food critic and writer Parker Bowles is also opening up on his press tour about the couple’s diets. In a piece for theDaily Mail, Parker Bowles shared that the two eat “simple, healthy and resolutely seasonal food,” and, as for the King himself, Parker Bowles described him asa “true food hero”who “practices what he preaches,” particularly in the realm of food sustainability.

He said that the monarch’s pantry is often filled with a “seasonal bounty of the royal estates,” including “game, beef and lamb,” plus fruits and vegetables like “peas, strawberries, raspberries and chard.”

“There is no waste at [King Charles’] table,” according to Parker Bowles.

He also added that the King “doesn’t eat lunch at all,” often skipping the meal in favor of a “relaxed” afternoon tea. His mother, Parker Bowles said, “eats a very light lunch,” often in the form of “a bowl of chicken soup” or “some smoked salmon.”

The pair often prefer a “laid back” dinner “away from the official pomp and circumstance,” he continued.

Tom Parker Bowles arrives at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England.Ian West - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Parker Bowles isn’t the only one sharing updates on how King Charles is doing. Queen Camilla, too, gave a brief update on her husband’s health while at an engagement on Sept. 3, telling a well-wisher who asked about him that he was “doing very well,” theMirrorreported.

Cooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles IIIis out Oct. 22.

source: people.com