Queen Camilla: Here's everything we know about her daughter, Laura Lopes

Prince William and Prince Harry may be the centre of the royal limelight alongside their wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. But what you may not have known is that William and Harry also have a step-sister and step-brother, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles.

It’s no secret that Camilla Parker Bowles was married before wedding the love of her life King Charles. But what many forget is that Camilla also has two children with her ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.

Who is William and Harry's stepsister, Laura Lopes?

Laura Lopes is almost unknown to the general public. She joined the Royal Family in 2005, when her mother married the then-Prince Charles. It was then that she became the step-sister of Princes William and Harry. To catch you up, here’s a few things you didn’t know about Laura...

Laura Parker Bowles was born on January 1, 1978 in Swindon. As a child, she grew up at Bolehyde Manor in Allington, then at Middlewick House in Corsham with her brother, Tom Parker Bowles, a food critic.

Laura spent her schooling at St Mary's Shaftesbury, a Catholic boarding school for girls. Then she went (with her brother) to Heywood Preparatory School, before being accepted at Oxford University. There, she chose to study art history and marketing.

With her experience and knowledge from school, she landed a three-month internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a museum located in Venice. After that, she became an automotive correspondent for Talter magazine in 2001. Laura went on to become the director of The Space Gallery in London and founding partner and director of Eleven Gallery also in London.

Laura Lopes, wife and mother

Laura Parker Bowles became Laura Lopes when she married her husband, Harry Marcus George Lopes, former model-turned-accountant. Harry is also the grandson of a Baron and is related to the famously wealthy Astor family.

It was on May 6, 2006, at the Anglican Church of St Cyriac, that the lovebirds said yes. Prince William and Kate Middleton were present for the occasion.

At her wedding, Laura Lopes wears a sublime wedding dress by Anna Valentine, the famous designer who had herself made Camilla's dress a year earlier. And after the church, it was at Ray Mill that the bride and groom met their guests for the reception.

Laura and Harry Lopes' three children

Laura and Harry have three children. About two years after their marriage, in 2008, Laura and her husband welcomed their first child: a little girl named Eliza. Then, in 2009, the couple welcomed twins.

In fact, the children of Laura and Harry are cousins of George, Charlotte, and Louis, the children of William and Kate, but also of Archie and Lilibet, the children of Harry and Meghan. Eliza was even a bridesmaid at William and Kate's wedding in 2011.

Evidently, Laura attended Harry and Meghan's wedding in the spring of 2018. She also attended some family gatherings, however, she remained in the background of the Royal Family.

In an interview that Laura's brother Tom gave with Good Morning Britain last year, he explained why he and his sister were not often seen at Royal events, saying the pair were 'not quite part of the Royal Family, to be honest':

My mother married into it. She’s part of it. We’re the common children. We’re just on the side.

Unlike her brother, who recently came out with a cookbook based on royal food and got the King's permission to publish it, Laura Lopes has certainly lived much her life separated from the monarchy. There is very little that is known about her relationship with her step-father, but there have been reports that paint her connection to her step-brothers, particularly Prince William, in a not-so-positive light.

Laura Lopes' relationship with William and Harry

Indeed, Laura Lopes has been getting attention in the past few days because of the Royal Family's 2024 Christmas celebrations. The event will be one to remember this year with 45 guests expected, including Queen Camilla’s children. Laura has been invited to the royal gathering for a second consecutive year.

Despite the festive cheer, the media has been abuzz with reports of Laura’s strained relationship with her step-brother, Prince William.

While Prince William may have accepted his father’s choice to marry Camilla and the extended family dynamics have changed over the years, it has been reported that there have always been tensions between him and Laura. Reports suggest that their disagreements date back to their early days as step-siblings when they had heated arguments about their parents’ pasts.

According to royal biographer Katie Nicholl, William and Laura often fought was responsible for their ‘broken homes.’ In her 2011 book, William and Harry, she wrote:

William and Laura used to have terrible fights over who was to blame for their broken homes.

Adding:

William would blame Camilla for all the hurt she had caused his mother [Princess Diana], which would send Laura into a rage... Laura was not having any of it. She would take a hard line and fire back at William, 'Your father has ruined my life.'

The fact that Laura attended Prince William and Kate's wedding, and that her daughter Eliza was a bridesmaid didn't calm down rumours of their strained relationship. Moreover, there is speculation that Prince William also struggles to get along with his step-brother, Tom—who has also invited to Christmas this year. The future king apparently is at ‘unease’ with Tom’s ‘louche lifestyle,’ reports Marie Claire.

Read more:

Prince William and his stepsister used to have ‘terrible fights’, claims author

Tom Parker Bowles reveals King Charles’ strict dining rule: ‘There is no waste'

This article has been adapted from Oh!mymag FR.

Sources used:

Public: 'Laura Lopes la soeur cachee dont les princes Harry et William veulent se rapprocher'

OK! Magazine: Inside Prince William's 'tense' relationship with 'secret' sister joining royals for Christmas

Marie Claire: Prince William Might Have an Awkward Christmas as His "Secret" Sister, With Whom He Had "Fights," Is Set to Attend