EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Prince Charles’s stepson left devastated after the death of his girlfriend
Prince Charles’s stepson Tom Parker Bowles is devastated by the cancer death of his girlfriend, 42, after her diagnosis was delayed by Covid lockdown
Prince Charles’s stepson has been left devastated by the death of his girlfriend at the age of 42 after her cancer diagnosis was delayed by lockdown.
Camilla’s food writer son Tom Parker Bowles, 46, had been going out with former journalist Alice Procope for almost two years.
‘Tom had been blissfully happy with Alice and is devastated that life can be so cruel,’ says a friend of Tom, who separated from his fashion writer wife, Sara Buys, in 2018.
Ms Procope, known as Alice Horton while working as a diary reporter, died ‘peacefully’ at home on March 17.
An insider told Eden Confidential that, partly because of Covid, the mother-of-three’s cancer diagnosis didn’t come until last August ‘by when it was too late.’
It comes amid fears thousands of cancer patients are missing out on potentially life-saving treatment due to delays in diagnosis during the pandemic.
Camilla’s food writer son Tom Parker Bowles, 46, had been going out with former journalist Alice Procope (left) for almost two years
Figures analysed by Cancer Research UK show that between March and January, referrals for lung cancer fell by 34 per cent.
In total the number of urgent GP referrals for patients with suspected lung cancer fell by 20,300 compared to the same period last year.
Speaking of Ms Procope, a friend said: ‘Partly because of Covid, Alice’s cancer diagnosis didn’t come until last August by when it was too late.
‘That’s what’s so really cruel and there will be countless others like her.’
Ms Procope was the granddaughter of the 2nd Viscount Ingleby and had three young children with her estranged husband, Robert Procope, grandson of baronet Sir Robert Wigram.
She leaves behind children Katherine, Wilfred and Georgi.
Charles is close to Tom and admired the way he has handled the future King’s relationship with his mother Camilla.
An insider told Eden Confidential that, partly because of Covid, the mother-of-three’s cancer diagnosis didn’t come until last August ‘by when it was too late.’ Pictured: Tom Parker-Bowles
Mr Parker-Bowles seen with Camilla at the Cheltenham Festival on Ladies Day in 2015
At school and university he was subjected to many snide remarks about his parents in particular about Camilla’s lengthy affair with Charles and its effect on Diana.
In 2018, he moved out of the Shepherd’s Bush home he shared with Sara and their two children after 12 years of marriage.
Tom, whose father Andrew Parker-Bowles is Camilla’s first husband, previously said he has ‘always adored’ Prince Charles.
He said: ‘All you care about your parents is they’re happy and my mother is exceptionally happy at the moment. I’ve always adored my stepfather; he’s always been a kind and good and lovely man.
The wedding of Tom and fashion writer wife Sara Buys in 2005. The pair separated in 2018
Tom Parker Bowles arrives at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018
‘I couldn’t care less: he is a man of warmth, intelligence and humanity and I think if it ever happens, he will make a fantastic King.’
The food writer, whose sister Laura Lopes is an art curator, has written five cookbooks and won the Guild of Food Writers award in 2010 for his writings on British food.
He has also appeared regularly as a critic on Masterchef.
The death of Ms Procope comes amid growing fears over scrapped scans or cancer treatment, with tens of thousands of Britons understood to have missed out on appointments since last March.
Hospitals were forced to cancel thousands of vital procedures to cope with the influx of Covid patients during the second wave of the pandemic last year.
The Department of Health posted another 70 Covid deaths yesterday, down a third on the 101 recorded time last Friday. Experts have said the successful vaccination drive should keep these low as more people are immune to the virus
Covid cases rose 28 per cent, however, after 6,187 were announced compared to 4,802 from a week ago. The uptick is not a cause for concern, experts say, and was to be expected after schools reopened
The World Health Organisation previously warned Covid has had a ‘catastrophic’ impact on cancer treatment, adding a ‘crisis is brewing’ due to scores of delays.
Figures released earlier this year revealed tens of thousands of Britons had missed out on potentially life-saving treatment during the crisis.
Surgery to remove tumours plummeted by one third during the first wave of coronavirus. From April to August, some 21,700 fewer patients had cancer surgery than in the same period of 2019, according to Public Health England (PHE).
The number of patients diagnosed with cancer from April to September last year was 35,592, a fall of one quarter compared with 2019 levels.
And in the eight months from April to November, 35,488 fewer patients started cancer treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, down 17 per cent on 2019.
More than 324,942 first doses and 234,382 second doses were given out yesterday in Britain’s vaccination drive
Cancer patients should ideally begin potentially life-saving treatment within 62 days of their diagnosis.
But no hospital trust in England met the target in December, while just a third of patients were seen within the crucial time-frame at two trusts in London and Birmingham.
Recent figures showed nearly 1.4million patients had waited longer than 18 weeks for vital scans and diagnostics tests in England in December.
In comparison, the figure was 646,000 for the same month in 2019. Fewer than half all of patients in Bradford and Chester had been sent for scans within the four-month target.
