Fun Facts You Probably Never Knew About King Charles

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If you think you know everything there is to know about the King of England, think again. King Charles III has no doubt undergone a stunning transformation — from a young royal who was long the heir to the throne, to his two marriages, his 2023 ascension (finally), and his cancer diagnosis, the British monarch has sure lived a lot of life. While the royals often feel unrelatable thanks to their blue blood status, the king isn't actually that different from us regular folks. For one, King Charles III weathered a tragic childhood, facing extreme bullying while he attended the ultra exclusive boarding school Gordonstoun, in Scotland. 

One of Charles' former classmates, Johnny Stonborough, recounted in a column for Newsweek how the young prince was incredibly shy when he first arrived at the school at only 13 years old. Staff members made it clear that Charles was "not to be treated any different," but many of his peers resorted to relentlessly picking on him, sometimes even leading to physical violence. Charles continued to keep to himself, never retaliating, and focused his efforts on things like painting (yes, he's actually a watercolor artist). 

The prince eventually managed to make some friends, and once he found his feet, Charles turned out to be a real wisecracker. While his school experience wasn't exactly great, the young man continued to hone the talents he discovered there. In fact, the royal is considered one of the most successful living artists in the U.K., having earned approximately £2 million from art sales between 1997 and 2016. His work predominantly features the royals' family homes as well as Scottish scenery, a place close to his heart. However, Charles' artistic prowess is hardly the most interesting thing about him.

The king of doggy bags? That's King Charles III for ya! Apparently, he's a big fan of saving leftovers for later and abhors wasting food in any way. Charles' stepson, renowned food critic Tom Parker Bowles, revealed just how strict he is when it comes to food waste in his book, "Cooking and the Crown." "There is no waste, everything is recycled, everything is used from the table," Parker Bowles penned. "If anything is leftover from the dinner, that will be made into something else or appear the next day. Nothing's allowed to be thrown out." The king has advocated for this lifestyle publicly and clearly practices it in private. 

But don't just take Parker Bowles' word for it. In her own book, "Charles: The Heart of a King," Catherine Mayer discussed the monarch's approach to food and leftovers, affirming that he's a stickler for ensuring nothing goes to waste. She spoke to Charles' former private secretary, Clive Alderton, who told her, "I've rarely met someone who is so frugal, not in the sense of meanness but an absolute allergy to waste, and in particular waste of food."

Former royal chef Carolyn Robb also weighed in, confirming leftovers are often repurposed to make an entirely different meal the following day. "If we made roasted lamb and there was leftovers, we'd probably go and make shepherd's pie the next night," she explained. Robb added that the royals don't eat as fancy as the public thinks either, with Charles himself preferring "simple, fresh and homemade meals."

Something you might not know about King Charles III is that he could probably put on a magic show at the drop of a hat. The monarch first revealed this hidden talent all the way back in 1975, when he performed a trick known as the Cups and Balls routine. Charles' nifty move caught the attention of Alan Snowden, who chronicled his performance in the December issue of The Magic Circular that year. "His natural charm and personality enthralled as he continued his performance," Snowden wrote, per Hello! magazine.

Snowden wasn't the only one who was impressed with Charles' sleight of hand either. The future king's great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, advised him to consider applying to join the Magic Circle, a members-only club, which, as of this writing, boasts an exclusive 1,700 members, of which Charles remains an honorary lifetime member. Indeed, the royal was granted entry after he proved his worth with that Cup and Balls trick.

For those hoping that the king might, at some point, reveal some of his magic secrets, we're sorry to impart that members of the Magic Circle are bound by its motto, "Indocilis privata loqui," which means "not apt to disclose secrets," per Woman & Home. Charles has notably not performed any magic tricks in years, at least not publicly. However, we're willing to bet he entertains his grandchildren with a move or two every once in a while.

Those who assume King Charles III spends his time listening exclusively to oldies would be very wrong. In fact, the British royal proved just how with it he is when Charles created a playlist to celebrate Commonwealth Day in March 2025. The king's tunes had the internet talking, especially because the playlist, which was featured on Apple Music 1, featured songs across a myriad of genres. The 17 tracks His Majesty selected showed just how varied his taste in music is. We can't help but chuckle at the thought of him and Queen Camilla grooving to Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love," the second-to-last track on the playlist, which also boasted songs from Davido, Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones, Bob Marley, RAYE, and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, to name a few. It was a colorful mix of artists indeed.

Some questioned whether Charles had really put the whole playlist together himself or if a palace aide had done so, but we'd like to believe he had a hand in it. The collection of songs was described as "a musical journey that spans 10 decades and reflects the diversity of the Commonwealth and a personal taste shaped by extraordinary experiences around the world," according to The Guardian.

Charles has notably displayed proof of his diverse taste in music before. In May 2026, during a visit to Belfast, he and Camilla each grabbed a bodhrán (a traditional Irish drum), and joined local musicians for a rendition of some traditional music. During the visit, the king also made it known that he was itching to learn how to do hip-hop dancing after watching students perform it. As former King's Trust ambassador Jamie Fagan told News24, "He wants a royal hip-hop lesson, in his words." 

There are some strange things King Charles III brings with him when he travels, reportedly including a bed and a toilet seat. As royal expert Tom Bower detailed in his book, "Rebel King," Charles is a heavy packer when he travels. Not only does the monarch apparently insist on traveling with his own set of (presumably high quality) linens, but His Majesty's special orthopedic bed has to come along for the ride too. Additionally, Charles prefers his own toilet paper — Kleenex Premium Comfort, to be exact — and his very own toilet seat. 

The thought of the king taking his personal toilet seat with him everywhere he goes is pretty hilarious, and reports have made the rounds that his sister, Princess Anne, once gifted him a leather toilet seat for Christmas (the royals have a tradition of giving each other humorous gifts instead of lavish presents). Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter asserted in the "A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets" documentary that the gift was Anne's way of poking fun at Charles being the heir to the throne. 

"What is it we used to call the loo? We would call it the throne. You go and sit on the throne," Arbiter shared, per The Mirror. "So buying a leather-bound loo seat was really Princess Anne's way of saying, 'Here you are, you've got your own personal throne!'" It's worth noting that the king has vehemently denied traveling with a toilet seat. During a 2018 interview with an Australian radio station, he was asked about the rumor, and Charles appeared flabbergasted, responding, "My own what? Oh, don't believe all that c**p!"

If there's one thing we know about King Charles III, it's that he's definitely not afraid of heights. He has, after all, jumped out of an airplane a couple of times. In 1971, the monarch found himself serving in the Royal Air Force for four months, and during this time, he engaged in his first parachute drop. It didn't exactly go as planned. Charles recalled the first time he jumped out of a plane while delivering a speech to the British Army's Parachute Regiment in 2021, noting that it was almost 50 years ago. "I made my first parachute drop — initially upside down with my legs in the rigging lines! — into Studland Bay, Dorset, where I was hauled out of the water by the Royal Marines," the royal recalled (via People). Charles received various forms of military training in his youth. 

Aside from his stint with the Royal Air Force, the future monarch also received training in the Royal Navy, the Army, and he trained with the Royal Marines too. It was after his time with the Marines that Charles received the title of colonel-in-chief of the British Army's Parachute Regiment. Given his performance when he first tried parachuting and a lack of further training, however, the royal opted to earn his new title by enrolling in a parachuting course instead. "I felt I should lead from the front or at least be able to do some of the things one expects others to for the country," Charles clarified to His Majesty's biographer, Jonathan Dimbleby, for his expansive tome, "Prince of Wales: A Biography."