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9 Funny Facts About King Charles III

King Charles is a polemic figure who might have spent many years overshadowed by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, II and his sons William and Harry, but that’s not to say that he doesn’t have an interesting story of his own.

Although Charles earned a bad reputation during his marriage to Princess Diana of Wales, over time the public has learned to love him for all his quirky ways; no matter how strange they may seem. If you are an eager follower of the Royal Family or you ever joined a free walking tour around Westminster, you might known that there have been rumours swirling about King Charles’ pickiness (like having a servant to help him squeeze his toothpaste tube, for instance). But are these rumours really true?

Here are 9 funny facts about King Charles:

1. His car runs on English wine

Apparently, Charles runs his Aston Martin (which was given as a 21st birthday gift from his mum) on bio-fuel made from surplus English wine. He also has his Jaguars, Audi and Range Rovers run on 100% biodiesel made from used cooking oil.

Photo credit: Revolve Eco-Rally

2. He was the first British royal heir to earn a degree

If you join a free walking tour around the college town of Cambridge, you will learn that King Charles became the first heir of the Royal Family to earn a university degree in 1971. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Cambridge University’s Trinity College, and he also earned his master’s from the same school in 1975.

3. He had a really long royal name

Before the coronation, King Charles III full official title was:

His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

Try repeating that ten times.

Photo credit: Library and Archives Canada

4. He’s horrible at giving gifts

Apparently, in 2003 the still Prince sent a bottle of Scotch to Ozzy Osbourne as a get-well present… the only problem is that Ozzy is a recovering alcoholic. Naturally, Ozzy’s wife Sharon wasn’t too pleased with the gift.

5. He only stood up to his father once

Word on the street is that King Charles’ father Prince Philip was a quite a stubborn man, so it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise that King Charles only stood up to him once during his lifetime. Apparently, it happened many years ago when the two were arguing, and Charles shot back with “Remember who you are speaking to: a future King.” – Yikes!

6. He’s a children’s book author

Believe it or not, back in 1980 the then Prince Charles penned (and published) a children’s book titled The Old Man Of Lochnagar, which he originally wrote or his younger brother Prince Edward.

7. He’s a distant relative of Dracula

OK, so he’s not really a distant relative of Dracula, but he is a distant relative of Vlad the Impaler (or Romania’s Vlad Tepes), the 15th century nobleman who became the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula story.

8. He’s a picky eater (to say the least)

Not only does he insist on having his eggs boiled for exactly seven minutes, he also asks that to have tea, muffins and seven boiled eggs served to him everyday between 4 and 5 p.m.

But his pickiness doesn’t just stop there: He also asks his chefs to put poached eggs on top of every meal, steam his vegetables in a specific type of mineral water, and make his orange and damson gin from the fruits grown at Highgrove.

9. He sleeps in the nude

… Now try and get rid of that mental image before it scars your brain.

Photo credit: Bill Braasch

If you want to learn more about the most famous Royal family in the world, check out the many free tours of London running every day.

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