Tom Parker Bowles Says King Charles Is ‘Strong’ amid Cancer Diagnosis: ‘Fingers Crossed, Touch Wood’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Chris Jackson/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty

WhenKing Charlesrevealed hiscancer diagnosisin February, there were doubts about whether he could still undertake his previously announced royal tour of Australia.

Now, eight months later, the 75-year-old monarch—who reportedlypaused his ongoing cancer treatmentfor the royal tour of Australia and Samoa alongsideQueen Camilla, 77—has undertaken a grueling 9-day schedule, packed with multiple engagements each day, not to mention the challenge of a 22-hour flight.

Amid the release of his new cookbook,Cooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III,Tom Parker Bowles, the monarch’s stepson and godson, speaks to PEOPLE about his admiration for both his stepfather and his mother, Camilla.

“The King is strong,” Parker Bowles, 49, says of Charles, whoarrived in Australia with Camilla on Oct. 18for their highly anticipated tour. “He is doing what he can. He’s following the advice of his doctors. Fingers crossed, touch wood.”

“He’s a magnificent king,” adds the food writer, whose latest book (his ninth in 20 years) explores the culinary traditions of the royals.

Tom Parker Bowles (at age 6) with then-Prince Charles at a polo game in May 1981.with Charles at a 1981 polo game.Bryn Colton-Bob Thomas/Popperfoto/Getty Images

Bryn Colton-Bob Thomas/Popperfoto/Getty Images

King Charles and Queen Camilla depart following a service at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church on October 20, 2024 in Sydney, Australia.Dean Lewins - Pool/Getty

Dean Lewins - Pool/Getty

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Dave Benett/Getty Images

“I’m incredibly proud of her. She’s at an age when most people think of retiring, but she never complains; she just gets on with it,” Parker Bowles says.

source: people.com