These Modern Royals Have Some Odd Quirks

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If you think modern royals are weird, bear in mind that they used to be a lot stranger back in the day. King Henry VIII, for instance, had servants practically making out with his sheets every day before making his bed to ensure His Majesty's linens weren't embedded with poison, guaranteeing the king would have a peaceful night's rest and wake up alive and well the following morning. Poison isn't the only thing royals historically feared, however. Many of them were also horrified at the prospect of taking a bath. This was partially due to misinformation making the rounds at the time that bathing was dangerous for your health. Queen Isababella of Spain, who ruled in the 15th century, only ever braved the depths of a bathtub on two occasions in her entire lifetime. 

She wasn't the only stinky royal around either. Queen Elizabeth I also believed bathing was optional and only jumped in the tub on a monthly basis. Even worse was the Scottish King James VI and I, who never set foot in a bathtub and suffered a nasty lice infestation as a result. Needless to say, there are plenty of really weird things about the royal family that have understandably raised eyebrows over the years, and while the modern set certainly takes personal hygiene more seriously, they still have some odd quirks of their own. 

Expecting them to be entirely normal would be ludicrous, of course. Nothing about these people's lives is ordinary. As British jurist Professor Robert Hazell pointed out to Sky News, being a royal comes with "extraordinary demands" alongside a lack of basic rights, like privacy, speaking your mind, and having your pick of careers. At the very least, The Firm should be allowed their oddities. And, judging by this lot, they are. 

Queen Elizabeth II gave the term "batty old lady" a whole new meaning with her strange daily ritual that included — you guessed it — bats. In his book, "We Are Amused," Brian Hoey chronicled some of the royal family's more peculiar habits, including recounting how the late queen used to wrestle with bats every afternoon, only to repeat the ritual the next day, for they did not exactly care that they'd been forcibly removed. "The fact [is] that the queen goes batty every afternoon, and by that I mean the queen likes to collect the bats who nest up in the higher reaches of the great hall," Hoey explained, elaborating, "She brings them down with a large butterfly net on a long pole. And, of course, in Britain bats are a protected species so she has to release them. They're nocturnal animals so they come back again every night, so she does it again the next day." 

As it turns out, the long-reigning monarch didn't actually mind this chore at all. In fact, removing the bats every day was something Her Majesty thoroughly enjoyed doing. Up until a point, that is. There was a colony of bats that inhabited Balmoral Castle, where the queen used to stay for the holidays. The bats made their home in the rafters, and the beloved ruler would reportedly spend some of her precious free time directing her servants on how to remove them during the day, only to leave the windows wide open, should they decide to return at night. As royal editor Adam Helliker informed The Sun, back in 2019, "She [the queen] used to do the net wielding but she doesn't do it now. Now I'm told the queen shouts encouragement but observes the proceedings."

King Charles III lives a life that's, well, fit for a king. He has servants at his beck and call, and apparently, His Majesty isn't shy about making good use of them. Being the monarch comes with a lot of responsibility, and evidently, some royally odd quirks. According to royal expert Omid Scobie's book, "Endgame," Charles is very particular about a few key things, and the way his toothpaste is deposited on his toothbrush is one of them. "[Charles] likes to have someone squeeze exactly one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush for him ahead of his bedtime routine," Scobie claimed, adding that said toothpaste "must come from a 'crested silver dispenser.'" 

Aside from the king having several different requirements when it comes to his dental health, Scobie also asserted that Charles wants his shoelaces ironed, likely to ensure his shoes always look just as good as the rest of his pristine outfit. He always looks immaculate when making public appearances, we'll give him that. Another strange fact about King Charles III is his penchant for talking to trees. Royal photographer Tim Rooke detailed to Vanity Fair in 2022 that, whenever the monarch attends a tree-planting ceremony, he wishes the young saplings good fortune on their journey. "The Prince of Wales has quite the way of planting trees," he shared. "When he plants a tree, he always touches the tree after he's planted it and says, 'Good luck, tree.'"

When it comes to snacking in secret, it appears that Prince William should be kept on a short leash. This is especially true when we're talking about chocolate, and even more so when it comes in the form of a brownie. Something even avid royalists might not know about Prince William, however, is that he absolutely detests it when someone puts nuts in a brownie, with Princess Catherine confessing during an official engagement at the National Federation of Women's Institutes, in 2025, that she learned this fairly quickly. "I know my brownies," William boasted, per People. His wife then interjected, "William is very fussy about it." The Prince of Wales conceded, clarifying, "Never put nuts in a brownie." Apparently, Catherine had to learn this "the hard way." 

Something else she probably learned the hard way is her husband's penchant for clearing out the family's chocolate stores during the holidays. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020, the Prince and Princess of Wales had a video call with the staff and students of Casterton Primary Academy ahead of Easter. William excitedly told everyone, "There will be a lot of chocolate being eaten here, don't worry!" referring to his own household. Kate Middleton quickly noted that the majority of chocolate would likely be eaten by him. "You keep eating it!" she quipped, per Hola! magazine. Clearly, William shouldn't be left unsupervised in the pantry during chocolate-filled holidays. 

Like her husband, Princess Catherine has some hidden quirks. It turns out the future queen is a big bee lover, and in 2023, she took to Instagram to proudly share a photograph of herself in a bee suit while conferring with the buzzing insects in celebration of World Bee Day. During a March 2026 outing to shops along the River Thames, the Princess of Wales got chatting to one vendor about honey and the impact the flowers the bees are exposed to can have on the taste. Prince William quickly chimed in to point out that his wife is quite the bee nerd. "Catherine's got her own bees, she knows a lot about bees," he revealed, per People. "Be careful what you say, you might be corrected!" As it turns out, Kate Middleton has something in common with the bees — she's quite the buzzy royal. 

Or at least, she used to be when she first joined their ranks. In an interview to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday, the princess confessed that, when she first started doing official royal engagements, she was a little too chatty. "I think there is a real art to walkabouts, everyone teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting, so I think I've still got to learn a little bit more and pick up a few more tips I suppose," she shared, per Hello! magazine. Personally, we wouldn't mind if Catherine fails to ditch this habit over time. After all, who doesn't want to spend some extra time chatting with the queen-to-be? 

Prince Harry's childlike spirit is one of the many things royal watchers love about him, and hopefully, he never loses it. Who could forget that time a little girl repeatedly stole some of his popcorn at the 2017 Invictus Games and Harry pretended to simply not notice before proceeding to make funny faces at her? Hearts melted around the world, but the Duke of Sussex's reaction wasn't entirely unexpected. Ever since he was a little boy, the renegade prince loved pulling faces and sticking his tongue out at unsuspecting bystanders. He even did this on the Buckingham Palace balcony during Trooping the Colour 1988, alongside sticking out his tongue at paparazzi as he passed them in a car. 

Evidently, Harry has never quite ditched the habit. While visiting Lesotho in 2008, the prince was photographed playfully sticking his tongue out at one of the children. Fast forward 10 years later, and he did so again while attending a WellChild ceremony. Harry, alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, met with several kids who were part of the WellChild program, and the prince was in his element, pulling funny faces, cracking jokes, and yes, sticking out his tongue at the little ones with whom he interacted.