Prince Charles' Stepson Is Faced With A Devastating Loss
The British royal family is facing yet another tragedy. The Daily Mail reports that Tom Parker Bowles' girlfriend, 42-year-old Alice Procope, has died of cancer. Tom is the son of Camilla Parker Bowles, whom Prince Charles married in 2005 following the tragic death of his first wife, Princess Diana. The 46-year-old food writer had been dating Procope for almost two years; their relationship began after Parker Bowles separated from his wife, Sara Buys, in 2018.
A friend of Tom's tells the Daily Mail that he "had been blissfully happy with Alice and is devastated that life can be so cruel." Though she reportedly died peacefully at home on March 17, it's said that Procope's diagnosis and treatment was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a friend of Procope's, by the time she was diagnosed in August of 2020, "it was too late." "That's what's so really cruel and there will be countless others like her," the source said.
Procope worked as a journalist and leaves behind three children from her marriage to her estranged husband, Robert Procope.
Prince Charles and Tom Parker Bowles are reportedly very close
Despite the continuing controversy around Prince Charles' relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, Tom seems to maintain a close relationship with his stepfather. Many criticized the pair's decision to marry in 2005, considering that they had an affair during Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage. However, Tom has only kind words to share about his stepfather.
"I don't give a crap what anyone in the press says he is a man of warmth and intelligence and humanity and I think he will, if it ever happens, he will make a fantastic king," Tom said in a shocking television interview with A Current Affair in 2015. Though he admitted that his mother's highly-publicized relationship was stressful at times throughout his teen years, her happiness is what matters most.
"All you care about with your parents is that they are happy and my mother is exceptionally happy at the moment," he continued, "And I've always adored my stepfather and he's always been a kind and good and lovely man."