Princes Harry and William Have A Secret Stepsister – Find Out Why She’s Hidden

You know all the traditional members of the Royal Family: the Queen, Princes Phillip, Charles, William, Harry, and the like. But did you know that Prince and Harry actually have a secret royal step-sister? Not many do!
All throughout history, there have been forgotten or discarded royal siblings, left out in the cold for whatever reason. Thankfully, times have changed, and that’s not the case this time around. However, there are plenty of good reasons why you haven’t heard of William and Harry’s step-sister. Read on to discover one of the most complicated and fascinating bits of recent royal history…
Where It All Began
The story of William and Harry’s step-sister begins in 1981, when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. However, while everything looked like a Disney movie on the outside, the truth was not as joyous. In fact, since the start of the relationship, Charles had been in love with another woman: Camilla Parker Bowels.

Now, many often wonder why, all those years ago, Charles did not merely marry Camilla instead. Unfortunately, due to royal rules, Camilla was simply not “marriage material.” This mainly stemmed from her middle-class background, previous marriage, and subsequent divorce. Heartbroken, Charles still married Diana, under the guidance of the crown. But Camilla and Charles could not stay away from one another…
Things Fall Apart
Things really started to fall apart in Charles and Diana’s marriage after a phone call between the Prince and Camilla leaked. On the tape, while still married to Diana, Charles told Camilla, “The trouble is, I need you several times a week… I’ll just live inside your trousers or something. It would be much easier!” As you might imagine, this not only devastated Diana, but the country as a whole.

According to palace insiders, the affair not only broke Diana’s heart but also infuriated her. Apparently, she took to calling Camilla “the rottweiler” whenever Charles was not around. Then, after Charles and Diana separated, the Princess was free to say what she wanted…
Princess Diana Speaks
After Diana and Charles split in 1992, largely due to the affair. Afterward, in an interview with the BBC, the princess put it incredibly bluntly: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” Millions around the world saw the cold quote as the final word on the subject from a heartbroken woman.

Unfortunately, Charles did not feel the same. Speaking in 1994, he seemed rather indifferent to the affair while owning up to it, saying, “Do you seriously expect me to be the first Prince of Wales in history not to have a mistress?” Still, despite all the hardships the royal family ultimately put Diana through, she never stopped loving her children, Prince William and Prince Harry.
A Different Kind of Royal Mother
Throughout her time as a royal mother, Diana changed forever the way moms of the royal family behave. In fact, Meghan Markle has quite a bit to thank Diana for! Diana became one of the first royal mothers not to rely on nannies, instead taking them to school and raising them herself. Just like a normal mom, Diana built her schedule around her children, not the other way around.

Of course, this all came to a tragic end on August 31, 1997, when Diana died in a horrible car accident in Paris, France. Worst of all, Prince William had just turned 15 at the time, while Harry was only 12. All these years later, Harry and William are still processing their mother’s sudden passing…
Good Memories
Even today, it’s clear to see that their mother’s death still pains Prince Harry and William quite deeply. While she may have seemed like a force of nature on the outside, Harry wants people to know that “behind closed doors, she was a loving mother and an incredibly funny person,” as he said to the BBC in 2017.

In the same program, William remembered how fantastically funny his mother was. “She was very informal and really enjoyed the laughter,” he said. “She was a massive card writer, and she loved the rudest cards you could imagine! I would be at school, and I’d get a card from my mother… But I didn’t open it in case teachers or anyone else in the class had seen it.” While everyone felt sorrow for the boy after Diana’s death, many felt anger towards Charles.
What Ifs
In the aftermath of Diana’s death, the public opinion of Prince Charles, especially in England, plummeted. Many started to ask many what-ifs: what if he hadn’t divorced Princess Diana? Would she have even been in Paris or entered the car? After all, she had been in the car with her new lover, Dodi Fayed. Meanwhile, many wondered if the way the press and royal family treated Diana hadn’t pushed her to take more frequent holidays to getaway.

The royal family also came under fire for not interacting with the grieving public after Diana’s death. All they received were a few glimpses of William and Harry, alongside their father, as they talked behind their mother’s coffin at the funeral. Soon enough, the public and press turned their eyes to Camilla…
Not An Easy Time
As you might imagine, the press immediately began hounding Camilla, desperate for her take on the situation. At the same time, many heartbroken royal fans blamed Camilla for Diana’s death, though she clearly had nothing to do with it. It could not have been an easy time for Charles’ partner. Still, through it all, she remained quiet and strong, something that could not have been easy.

“That must have been an appalling period for [Camilla],” royal expert Julia Cleverdon said in 2019 to the Daily Express. “And I thought she was courageous and humble and decent. [Charles] was in agony about it; he really, really was.” Things did not get any easier when Camilla and Charles began publically dating shortly afterward. Over the years, however, the two worked on their image, and, by the time they married in 2005, Britons had come to accept Camilla!
William and Harry’s Views
Princes William and Harry have been essential in rebuilding Charles and Camilla’s image. Believe it or not, the boys do not have an adversarial relationship with their stepmother. “She’s always been very close to me and William,” Harry said in 2005. “She’s not the wicked stepmother. I’ll say that right now… She’s made our father very, very happy, which is the most important thing. William and I love her to bits.” That’s quite high praise!

Since his teen years, William has frequently voiced the same opinions. So, its really no surprise that, according to a recent poll, most Brits believe that Camilla should become Queen if Charles becomes King! Though the current Queen might have something to say about that…
The Wedding of Charles and Camilla
Of course, not even Charles and Camilla’s wedding could go off without some type of controversy. This is the Royal Family we’re talking about! You see, Charles’ own mother, The Queen, elected not to attend the event. After all, she’s the head of the Church of England, a very anti-divorce church. Unfortunately, as Charles and Camilla were both divorced people, the Queen could not attend.

Had the Queen been there, she would have heard Charles infamous speech, which included a shoutout to his mother, as well as the line “down with the press.” Among those who did hear the speech were Camilla’s two children from her previous marriage…
William and Harry’s Step-Siblings
Strangely, as all the British tabloids covered Charles and Camilla’s wedding, they did not cover Camilla’s own children. That’s right! Camilla has a son and a daughter, Tom and Laura, from her first marriage to British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles. They are in the picture below, second row on the right.

In fact, it’s even more surprising given the fact that Camilla actually talked about her children in the infamous phone call to Charles. During the call, Camilla tells Charles to call her back “before [she has] these rampaging children around.” Then, when Charles asks her what time the kids usually wake up, she says, “Well, usually Tom never wakes up at all, but as it’s his birthday tomorrow, he might just stagger out of bed.” However, despite this, the British press have left Harry and William’s step-siblings out of the lense of their cameras…
Tom Parker Bowles
Of both of Camilla’s children, Tom Parker Bowles has a much bigger profile. In fact, there’s a chance you’ve read some of his work! Very early in life, Tom realized that the Royal Family life was simply not for him. So, he went into the world of culinary arts, becoming a food writer and critic. As of today, Tom has published an impressive seven cookbooks and won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for his writings on British food.

In his limited free time, Tom has also reviewed restaurants of the likes of GQ and Esquire. Of course, this has also landed him on plenty of food and cooking shows, like Family Food Fight. However, while you might know a little about Tom, you probably don’t know anything about his sister, Laura Lopes. Let’s find out a bit more about Prince Harry and William’s step-sister!
Laura Lopes
While Tom may have made his made in the media, his sister, Laura Lopes, has remained much more out of the eye. While Tom was drawn to the culinary arts, Laura pursued the actual arts. After graduating college, Laura worked at a variety of prestigious art galleries, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, The Space Gallery, and London’s Eleven gallery.

While working at the Space Gallery, Laura met the man who would become her husband, Harry Lopes. No stranger to famous relatives, Lopes is the grandson of a Baron as well a decedent of John Jacob Astor, one of the richest men in history. While Laura’s wedding to Lopes might not have been broadcast around the world, like royal weddings, it had quite a few celebrity guests there…
The Lopes Wedding
While it might not have been as widely reported as Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle, both of Laura’s royal stepbrothers attended her wedding. In addition to Harry, William, Camilla, and Charles, Kate Middleton also attended Laura’s wedding, despite not having married William yet. As it turns out, most of the British elite know each other, and Kate Middleton and Laura are actually good friends!

At the wedding, Laura wore an expensive silk dress designed by the one and only Robinson Valentine. In case you didn’t know, that’s the same designer that dressed Camilla in her 2005 wedding to Charles! Of course, Laura also attended both of her stepbrothers’ royal weddings as well!
The Cutest Bridesmaid
If Laura looks a little familiar, you may have spotted her at both Prince William and Prince Harry’s weddings. In fact, her eldest daughter, Eliza, actually served as a bridesmaid in William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011. Only three-years-old at the time, Eliza easily made one of the cutest bridesmaids of all time!

One of the pictures from that beautiful day, seen above, features Eliza (holing Camila’s hand) holding a pink stick worm. Afterward, everyone wanted to know where the worm had come from! “Harry pulled this wiggly worm out of his pocket in the carriage to keep [the children] amused,” Camilla later said. “Eliza loved it so much that she wouldn’t let go, and it even made the official photographs.”
Laura’s Children
It would be quite rude to give the entire spotlight to Eliza when Laura has two more children! In addition to her daughter, Laura and her husband have a pair of twin boys, Louis and Gus. You read that right: there was actually a little royal Louis a couple years before Prince William and Kate Middleton named their son Louis. Wonder where they got it from? Hopefully, the whole two Louis’ situation does not get too confusing during Christmas!

Meanwhile, Tom, Laura’s brother, also has a few children of his own: a son, Freddy, and a daughter, Lola. Like they attended Prince William’s wedding, Laura and Tom also attended Harry’s wedding in 2018…
Second Royal Wedding
Once again, when Prince Harry married actress Meghan Markle in 2018, both and Laura and Tom appeared on the guest list, along with their spouses. Of course, both attended! Who would ever give up the chance to go to not one but two royal weddings? On the big day, William and Harry’s step-siblings were photographed walking to the ceremony at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel, both sporting dazzling blues.

However, whether we’ll see in Laura in any more photos remains a serious question. It’s clear that she likes staying out of the spotlight, that’s for sure. In fact, while we know what she does, continuing to manage an art gallery, royal fans know little else. Recently, her brother Tom explained why that might be…
A Rough Upbringing
As stated, the press and public were not easy on Camilla after the death of Diana. Unfortunately, that animosity spilled over towards Tom and Laura as well. To make matters worse, paparazzi constantly stalked the Bowels family home. As Tom told The Mail on Sunday, “When it first started, we thought it was entirely normal growing up to have five or six paparazzi hanging around. We would go up there with binoculars and say, ‘Oh look, mummy, there’s five today.'”

As you can imagine, this had quite an impact on Tom and Laura while growing up. However, things only went from bad to worse as William and Harry’s step-siblings grew up…
Reliving A Nightmares
The Bowels hoped that things would get better over time – they did not. Even when Tom and Laura were teenagers, paparazzi would chase them through parks and even through traffic. In fact, Tom would later compare the chasings to those that Diana suffered on the night of her death. To make matters even worse, unlike William and Harry, Tom and Laura had no training on how to deal with constant scrutiny.

“[The media] are bullies,” Tom said in the interview. “All I wanted to do was smack them in the face and beat the hell out of them. But you couldn’t do that.” Soon enough, Tom would wish he had never said those words, though.
Tom’s Mistakes
While Tom may have had it out for reporters, it seems that they may have had it out for him as well. On more than a few occasions, photographers caught Tom in a bad way. For instance, in 1995, while he attended Oxford University, paparazzi (and police) caught him in a nightclub with a number of illegal drugs. Then, just four years later, Tom offered drugs to a man who turned out to be an undercover reporter, working on a story about white-collar crime.

Between the constant media attention and Tom’s less-than-stellar example, it’s not hard to see why Laura chooses to stay out of the public eye. And all these years, she’s done a fantastic job at keeping a low profile!
The Rare Rumor
While Laura has never made any legal transgressions or anything of that nature, that hasn’t stopped the rare rumor from popping up. For instance, Katie Nicholl, author of the bestselling 2010 book William and Harry claims that Laura and William did not get along. “William and Laura used to have terrible fights over who was to blame for their broken homes,” one former palace worker told her.

Meanwhile, Nicholas also wrote that “William would blame Camilla for all the hurt she had caused his mother, which would send Laura into a rage…She would take a hard line and fire back at William, ‘Your father has ruined my life.'” However, based on Harry and William’s recent comments, these are lone-gone waters, if they ever existed.
The Opinion of the Royal Family
With all that in mind, you can probably understand why Laura declines all interview requests. It seems she’s always been seeking privacy. But that doesn’t stop other Royal Family members from talking about her. In 2017, Camilla said that she couldn’t have survived the pre-marriage press intrusion “without [her] family.”

Of course, now, as you likely know, all the spotlight has been removed from Camilla and her children. These days, the only thing the British tabloids seem to care about covering is Meghan Markle. Like Tom and Laura, Markle has found the press attention unbearable, leading to many comparisons between Markle and Laura…
Any Advice?
In late 2018, Tom appeared on Good Morning Britain for an interview with Piers Morgan. In the segment, Morgan asked if Tom if he had any advice for Meghan, given what he and Laura had been through. “I think she’s wonderful. How could I give advice about that? I think she should carry on what she’s doing,” Tom replied.

Afterward, Tom revealed a secret about himself and Laura: they are “not quite part of the royal family, to be honest.” Explaining, he continued, “My mother married into [the royal family]. She’s part of it. We’re the common children. We’re just on the side.” However, there’s a chance that could change…
A Change In Title
Could Tom and Laura ever end up on equal footing as Princes William and Harry, no longer the “common children.” Yes, actually! You see, after the Queen passes away, Charles will take the throne and becomes King. At that point, royal experts say that Charles could bestow royal titles upon Tom and Laura, officially bringing them into the royal family. However, few expect that to actually happen. Especially since it seems like Laura is perfectly happy as William and Harry’s secret step-sister!

Meanwhile, Tom has nothing but kind words to say about the brothers, calling them “lovely and proper.” Will we ever hear from Laura Lopes? That remains to be seen…
The Secret Step-Sister
As many royal experts have pointed out, even if William and Laura once had a problem, their presence at each other’s weddings shows some degree of closeness. Although, a few British royal experts argue this could all be for show, not wanting to give the tabloids any debate. There’s really only one person who can answer those questions definitely: Laura Lopes.

Unfortunately, as of this writing, Laura has not given any interviews. For right now, it seems, the secret step-sister of the world’s most famous royals wants to remain that way.