Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles made a foray into politics today with a public statement begging ‘please, please’ for Conervative minister Thérèse Coffey to be ‘gone’ from her job.
Downing Street confirmed later that Ms Coffey had left her role as Environment Secretary on a day when a spate of high-profile heads rolled in Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Despite the monarchy being politically impartial, Queen Camilla’s son decided to add his thoughts on the democratic running of the country by posting on the social media site X – formerly known as Twitter.
Seemingly posted ahead of news of Ms Coffey’s departure, he wrote: “Please say Coffey has gone. Please. Please”
The 48-year-old aristocrat then appeared to gleefully retweet a post from Guardian Political Editor Pippa Crerar confirming Ms Coffey had indeed ‘gone’.
Food author Mr Parker Bowles’ post did not go unnoticed and sparked a ‘testy’ exchange with journalist Daniel Rosney who wrote: “The Queen’s son calling for a senior politician to be sacked.
“That’s not a sentence we’d have been able to say before.”
Firing back Mr Parker Bowles defended his tweet as being from “a food writer” but continued his political commentary adding he was referencing “how little the DEFRA secretary cares about farmers, river pollution, and anything else she is actually supposed to do.”
Commenting on the back and forth between the journalist and the Queen’s son, another posted: “Testy exchange between a journalist and Tom Parker Bowles.”
The Royal Family are not supposed to make political statements as part of the foundation of the way Britain is governed, according to the constitution. However, Tom Parker-Bowles is not bound to these rules in the same way that, for example, King Charles, Queen Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales are.
During the Scottish Independence debate of 2014, the late Queen Elizabeth II said she hoped voters would “think very carefully about the future”
Mr Parker Bowles’ step-father and Godfather is King Charles III.
Speaking about Ms Coffey leaving he post the Prime Minister thanked her for “years of dedicated ministerial service and your friendship to me personally”.
He added: “I am also grateful to you for all your work as health secretary and deputy prime minister which helped prepare the health service for the winter. In a difficult time for our party, your teamwork and positivity helped bring everyone together.”
