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Camilla Was Once Reported to be Expecting King Charles’ Child — but Her Son Tom Had the Best Reaction

The confusion happened in 2018, when a British newspaper mixed up Middleton's pregnancy with Prince Louis's with Camilla's.

Queen Camilla and King Charles attend 'Ladies Day' of the Betfred Derby Festival 2024. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Max Mumby/Indigo)
Queen Camilla and King Charles attend 'Ladies Day' of the Betfred Derby Festival 2024. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Max Mumby/Indigo)

Queen Camilla and King Charles have no children of their own, as they were both in their late 50s when they tied the knot in 2005. The King and Queen Consort each have two children from their previous marriages, already boasting a sizeable family. Despite this being a well-known fact, a British newspaper accidentally tweeted that Camilla was 'due to give birth' to her third child while referring to Princess Kate's pregnancy. Her son, Tom Parkar Bowles, cheekily poked fun at the blunder, joking about being taken aback by his so-called unborn sibling. 

The wedding of King Charles and Queen Camilla in 2005.
The wedding of King Charles and Queen Camilla in 2005. (Image Source: Getty Images| Hugo Bernand/ROTA/Anwar Hussein Collection)

The confusion happened in 2018, when Metro UK wrote in a since-deleted tweet, "The Duchess of Cornwall is due to give birth to her third child next month." The outlet was referring to Middleton's pregnancy with Prince Louis, and accidentally addressed her as 'Duchess of Cornwall' instead of her former title, 'Duchess of Cambridge.' Quoting the tweet, Tom Parker Bowles dryly responded at the time, "Dear God. Really?" Soon after, English comedian Dom Joly chimed in, "Congratulations on your impending sibling. Must have been a surprise?" to which Tom cheekily penned, "You’re not wrong."

A Screenshot of the tweet claiming Queen Camilla was expecting her third child.
A Screenshot of the tweet claiming Queen Camilla was expecting her third child. (Image Source: X| MetroUK)

After the tweet went viral, royal watchers couldn’t resist poking fun at Camilla's imaginary pregnancy. As reported by HELLO!, a royal watcher commented, "Better start finding excuses not to babysit, now, Tom." Another chimed in, "Does Charles know, Tom?" to which he quipped, "I'm the last to know, Frosty. As ever." In a similar vein, a netizen also chose to congratulate Tom on becoming a "proud big brother."

The Queen Consort has two children from her previous marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles: Laura Lopes and Tom. 

Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes watch a race with their mother, Queen Camilla, from the temporary Royal Box.  (Image Source: Getty Images| Matt Cardy - WPA Pool)
Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes watch a race with their mother, Queen Camilla, from the temporary Royal Box. (Image Source: Getty Images| Matt Cardy - WPA Pool)

But Camilla isn’t the only royal to go through an embarrassing typo related to a pregnancy announcement. Princess Beatrice also had one from Buckingham Palace itself. Last October, Charles’s team announced on social media that Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were expecting their second baby together. While the royal couple were indeed expecting their second child, the Palace deleted the initial post on X (formerly Twitter) because of a minor typo, which referred to Beatrice as ‘Her Royal Highes,’ instead of the correct ‘Her Royal Highness’ (HRH) title. Beatrice and Eduardo are parents to two daughters, Sienna Elizabeth and Athena Elizabeth, along with son Christopher Woolf from the latter's previous partner.

Speaking of the Palace's embarrassing typos, Buckingham Palace recently also found itself in hot water when it posted 'fun facts' about Princess Anne in honor of her 75th birthday. Midway through the list of lesser-known facts, the website asked whether anyone knew that she is a stepmother to two children from her second husband’s first marriage. While the answer was an obvious no, the site claimed that she was a stepmother to two previously unheard people, Tom and Amy Laurence. Royal watchers were left scratching their heads, as Anne's husband, Sir Timothy Lawrence, is not known to have been married or to have had any offspring before his union with her. 

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