It’s always interesting when we have an opportunity to get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the royal family. Undoubtedly, they have been in the news frequently over the past few years, so getting the inside story is a real treat.
One of the issues that was in the news was the tragic passing of Queen Elizabeth II. It happened on September 8, 2022, and the entire royal family was affected by that one death.
It was on the same day that King Charles III would ascend to the throne. The next day, he addressed the UK as the new monarch for the first time. But since that time, some videos have shown up and inside reports appeared that talk about his unusual demands and habits.
From the time that Charles was a young boy, he would earn the nickname, the ‘pampered prince’. It was almost exactly one year after her marriage in 1947 that she would give birth to Charles in 1948. He was born in the Buhl Room of Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth was a princess at the time.
When Charles was a youngster, he broke tradition a number of times. He would go to school rather than being tutored. He also earned a university degree at Trinity College, Cambridge. Later, he joined the Royal Air Force and then eventually would become the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in 1958.
Even before he became king, Charles was known by the staff to have some unusual habits and requests. This showed up in the 2015 Amazon Prime documentary, ‘Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm’. A former Butler, Paul Burrell said that everything was done for the Prince.
He said: “His pajamas are pressed every morning, his shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron, the bath plug has to be in a certain position, and the water temperature has to be just tepid.” That bathtub only was ‘half filled’.
The Butler also said that the King ‘has his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning.’
Charles ate a healthy diet but he did have some unusual actions thrown in. A former chef to the royal family said: “Prince Charles has a healthier option. He’d have homemade bread, a bowl of fresh fruit, fresh fruit juices.
“Wherever the Prince goes in the world, the breakfast box goes with him. He has six different types of honey, some special mueslis, his dried fruit and anything that’s a bit special that he is a bit fussy about.”
Julian Payne, the former press secretary to the King also opened up about how he skipped lunch on a regular basis and preferred to take a walk.
“The king doesn’t eat lunch; so, an early lesson I learnt when out on the road with him was to have a big breakfast or bring a few snack bars with you to keep you going.
“The working day is pretty relentless. Beginning with the radio news headlines and a breakfast of seasonal fruit salad and seeds with tea.”
As far as the biscuits are concerned, he likes to have them warm according to a royal household insider. They said: “Prince Charles enjoys cheese and biscuits at the end of many of his meals. Since he’s particular about everything, he insists that they be a certain temperature. The staff keeps a warming pan just to make sure they are hot enough for his liking.”
The king also takes a number of personal items with him when he travels according to the book, ‘The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil’. These include his ‘bed, furniture and even pictures.’
Undoubtedly, the king has been pampered during his life so it’s not surprising that he has stuck with some of those unusual quirks. I guess you never know what’s going on behind the scenes until you know for sure.
