Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in a lavish ceremony on July 29, 1981. Their nuptials took place at St. Paul’s Catherdral in front of 3,500 guests. Among the attendees were Camilla Parker Bowles and her young son, Tom. But if Diana didn’t put her foot down, Camilla’s child would have actually been in the wedding party.
Here’s more on that, plus why the entire Parker Bowles family was at the “Wedding of the Century” and what part Camilla’s first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, had in the event.
Why Camilla Parker Bowles was at Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding
Camilla and Princess Diana got to know each other after Charles proposed to his first wife. The women were even friends at one point, while their men played polo together often. Because the couples were so friendly the Bowles family scored an invite to the royal wedding.
But just before the Prince and Princess of Wales tied the knot, Diana became weary of Camilla.
“So walking down the aisle, I spotted Camilla, pale gray, veiled pillbox hat, saw it all, her son Tom standing on a chair,” Diana said in her audio tapes to biographer Andrew Morton.
Diana vetoed Camilla’s son being in the wedding party
In addition to attending the royal wedding, the Parker Bowles family were involved in Charles and Diana’s big day in other ways as well. In the documentary, Wallis Simpsons — Royal Stories, it was revealed that Charles asked Andrew to be head of security that day.
“[Charles] chose Parker Bowles to be his head of security when he finally married Diana; his personal bodyguard riding beside the royal carriage after the ceremony,” the documentary’s narrator noted (per Express).
In the book The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown, royal author Penny Juror said that Charles also wanted their son Tom, who is his godchild, to be a pageboy. However, Diana was against that.
“When it came to choosing her attendants for the wedding, [Diana] vetoed Charles’ suggestion that Camilla’s son, Tom, his godchild, be in the wedding party,” Junor wrote (per Good Housekeeping). “She agreed to several of his other godchildren, but there was a big scene about Tom Parker Bowles and Charles backed down.”
What Tom Parker Bowles has said about his godfather who is now his stepfather too
Decades later when Camilla and Charles got married, the prince became Tom’s stepfather as well.
Tom has stated that he is close with his stepdad and told The Times that he is delighted at how happy the Prince of Wales makes his mom.
“All you care about with your parents is they’re happy and my mother is exceptionally happy. I’ve always adored my stepfather; he’s always been a kind and good and lovely man,” Tom said (per Hello!). “He is a man of warmth, intelligence, and humanity and I think if it ever happens, he will make a fantastic king.”
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