FAMILY FIRST 'TOM AND CAMILLA HAVE A LOVELY RELATIONSHIP'

CAMILLA’S SON TOM PARKER BOWLES SPEAKS OUT IN SUPPORT OF HIS TOUGH’ MOTHER WHO MARRIED FOR LOVE

- LESLEY JONES

Tom Parker Bowles leapt to the defence of his mother, Camilla, the Queen Consort last week, hitting back at Prince Harry's hurtful claims that she was a "villain" and played the "long game" in a bid to become Queen.

Rubbishing Harry's controversial comments on The News Agents podcast, food writer and restaurant critic Tom said, "I don't care what anyone says, this wasn't any kind of 'end game'. She married the person she loved and this is what happened."

Last week royal expert Ingrid Seward, Editor-in-Chief of Majesty magazine, told OK! it was a clear sign Tom now feels the need to step up and defend his mother against the claims made by Harry in his controversial memoir, Spare.

"If Tom feels really angry about something, he'll speak out and that's what I think happened on this occasion," she says. "Tom and his sister Laura were really friendly with Harry, so I think his comments in the book made it all doubly hurtful.

"I'm absolutely sure he's now 'persona non grata' with Tom, who would have no desire to see Harry now - except, perhaps, to punch him." Speaking about the close bond shared between mother and son, Ingrid believes Tom, 48, picked his moment to finally jump to his 75-year-old mother's defence.

"Camilla and Tom have a lovely mother and son relationship," she says. "I think it's a very close one and added to that, Prince Charles is his godfather as well as his stepfather. Tom obviously wanted to defend his mother although she's probably told him not to, but I think this time was too much."

Revealing that Camilla is not as ambitious as some may think, Ingrid says the Queen Consort is more concerned with supporting her husband, King Charles, 74, especially through the coronation period.