There’s a Surprising Reason Why Queen Camilla Isn’t on the Family WhatsApp Chat

Mar. 15, 2025

Queen Camilla attends day two of Royal Ascot 2024 at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2024 in Ascot, England.Photo:Samir Hussein/WireImage

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Queen Camillaapparently didn’t make the cut for the family WhatsApp chat — but it’s not because of any animosity.

It’s simply because, according to her sonTom Parker Bowles, his mother’s phone — an “old fashioned” Nokia — is too old to support WhatsApp entirely. In an interview withWoman & Home, Tom, 49, was asked if his family had a WhatsApp group, as many families do (including the royal family).

“We do — my children, my sister and cousins,” Tom replied. “But my mum still uses an old fashioned Nokia telephone, so [she] can’t. I think it’s for security.”

“She’s working a lot harder,” Tom said. “She’s always worked quite hard, [so] it’s still the case of, I ring my mother, she doesn’t answer. I look on the television [and think], ‘Ah! She’s in Jersey.’ ”

Camilla, 77, who was married to Tom’s father Andrew Parker Bowles before their divorce and her eventual remarriage to Charles in 2005, apparently becomes “quite cross” if her grandchildren have their phones out at the dinner table — and will tell them to put them away, according to theTimes. Tom has two children, Lola and Freddy, and Camilla’s daughter Laura Lopes has three children, Eliza, Gus and Louis.

Aaron Chown - Pool/Getty

While not much is known about royal family members and their cell phones, in his bookElizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, Gyles Brandreth said thatQueen Elizabeth“had her own mobile phone, and obliging grandchildren ready to show her how it worked,” he wrote.

According to theTelegraph, the King, 75, doesn’t own a phone and lets his staff take his phone calls.Mike Tindall, who isPrincess Anne’s son-in-law and is married to her daughterZara Tindall, revealed in 2018 that the royal family has a WhatsApp group chat.

“I wouldn’t say we’re cutting edge, but it’s just easier for some reason on WhatsApp,” he said. “I’m in about 25,000 groups. You might do it for a get together and just stay on the group, and occasionally people will post. You’re scared to leave because you don’t want to be seen to be rude.”

In October 2023,Prince WilliamandKate Middletonrevealed their most-used emojis during an interview with Radio 1 hosts Jordan North and Vick Hope. The Prince of Wales, 42, joked that he’d have to think of a more PG option because his initial answer would be the aubergine [eggplant] emoji.

Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales arrive for their visit to SportsAid at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre to mark World Mental Health Day on Oct. 12, 2023 in Marlow, England.Suzanne Plunkett/WPA Pool/Getty

Suzanne Plunkett/WPA Pool/Getty

“Is this a clean thing or is this a family one?” the royal said, laughing. “I’ve been told not to say the aubergine but I’m saying now — because I’ve got to be all grown up — it’s the one where the eyes go up and down and the mouth’s out. What’s that one? The slightly crazy one.”

As for Kate, 42, “Mine’s probably going to be the heart with then the crying emoji. The hysterical laughing when things have gone wrong,” she said.

In March 2024, Prince William — speaking at the opening of a youth facility — spoke with teenagers who said they spent too much time on their phones. The Prince of Wales told the teens that “the grownups are guilty of it, too,” and added that people across generations spend “ages on our phones” and “we have got to get better at it.”

Except, apparently, Queen Camilla, who has apparently got that part of life figured out. She and King Charles wrap up their tour of Australia and Samoa on Saturday, Oct. 26, and Tom told PEOPLE that his stepfather is“a magnificent king.”

Queen Camilla and King Charles visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Oct. 21, 2024 in Canberra, Australia.Arthur Edwards/Pool/Getty

Arthur Edwards/Pool/Getty

“The King is strong,” Tom said of Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. “He is doing what he can. He’s following the advice of his doctors. Fingers crossed, touch wood.”

He added, “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.”

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Tom’s new bookCooking and the Crown: Royal Recipes from Queen Victoria to King Charles III, his ninth, came out Oct. 22 and features an ample supply of recipes — including Camilla’schicken soup recipe, which he called her “lunchtime staple.”

source: people.com