Inside King Charles’ bond with his grandkids from matching bracelets to ‘£18k gift’ but he ‘hardly knows’ Harry’s two
KING Charles may be king of England, but he also takes the role of “Grandpa Wales” very seriously.
The monarch – who is grandad to George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet – is said to be brilliant with children and loves buying them “the right presents.”
Editor of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward told Fabulous: “King Charles has always enjoyed being around children.
“He taps into their childish world with the ease of most creative people.”
King Charles, 75, is said to have a “special bond”, with Prince William and Princess Kate’s three children, but has barely met Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s kids in California.
Ingrid, author of My Mother & I, added: “George Charlotte and Louis are the only grandchildren he sees regularly and that is because Catherine makes it happen.
“She understands the special bond the King has with them.
“She will ensure they are all at Balmoral so Charles can spend some precious quality time with them.”
SILLY GAMES
It’s not always easy entertaining kids, but King Charles has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Ingrid added: “He plays silly games, is brilliant at funny voices and ‘making their toys talk’.
“He plays endless games, which he invents himself.”
Queen Camilla revealed that they have even read Harry Potter to the kids – and Charles does all the voices.
During the first episode of her Reading Rooms podcast, King Charles’ wife was asked: “Which book did you most enjoy reading to your grandchildren and did you do different voices for the characters?”
Camilla answered: “I think the one I enjoyed reading more than anything else was Harry Potter.
“I can’t mimic voices for love or money, I’m completely hopeless at it.
“I was a really bad actor at school and I’ve never been able to master the art of mimicry, but my husband, he can do all the voices.”
MATCHING FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS
The kids adore their grandad and love making little gifts for him, according to the royal editor.
And Charlotte and George are even said to have given him a special token after they saw Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Wembley on Prince William’s birthday.
She shared: “After Taylor Swift gave them all ‘friendship bands’, they made a special one for the King which he was first seen wearing earlier this month.”
In Guernsey, the monarch wore a bracelet made up of yellow and red thread, in a similar twisted braid style to one Charlotte wore to the Wimbledon’s Men’s Final.
‘HARDLY KNOWS’ THE SUSSEX KIDS
Ingrid claimed that the king’s Californian grandchildren Archie and Lilibet are not forgotten but “Charles hardly knows them.”
She added: “He would love to see them at Balmoral but for once that is not up to him it is down to Harry and Meghan.”
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Phil Dampier shared how often Charles has seen his grandkids.
He said: “There is this underlying sadness of course because of the rift that the King is not seeing his grandchildren.
“I think he’s only met Lilibet possibly once and Archie only a couple of times and they are seventh and eighth in line to the throne, growing up in California on the West Coast of America with American accents and they just don’t see them.”
NAMED A WOOD AFTER GEORGE
Not many people can say their grandad has named a wood after them, but Prince George can.
After the Prince and Princess of Wales’ first child was born, Charles decided to pay tribute to him at Balmoral.
He told the BBC: “The great thing was I managed to plant it [the wood] the same year that my grandson was born.
“So I thought I’d call it Prince George’s Wood.
“It is really for autumn colour and a bit of spring. But autumn is the magic up here.
“So finding all the interesting trees and shrubs that turn an interesting colour is half the battle.”
Timeline of King Charles' health battle
A look at King Charles cancer diagnosis and recovery.
January 17: Buckingham Palace announces the King has been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate
January 26: The Sun exclusively photograph the King arriving at The London Clinic for his ‘corrective procedure’
January 29: Seen waving and smiling as he left hospital after an extra night
February 5: Palace reveal while in hospital for his prostate operation doctors discovered the the King has a form of cancer
February 10: King issues ‘heartfelt thanks’ in a written statement
February 21: King tells Rishi Sunak he had been “reduced to tears” by get-well cards
March 21: The Princess of Wales and the King have lunch at Windsor Castle
March 22: Kate announces via video statement that she is being treated for cancer
March 31: King attends Easter Sunday service and takes part in ‘walkabout’ with members of the public and aides say ‘it was a significant step’ as King had ‘responded to treatment very encouragingly’
April 4: The Sun exclusively reveals King has ordered aides to ‘supercharge’ his diary for the summer and is ‘raring to go’
April 10: King and Queen embark on break at Birkhall, in Scottish Highlands
April 26: Buckingham Palace announce King will return to public-facing front-line duties
April 30: King marks his public comeback by visiting a cancer hospital with the Queen
Future:
May 8 and 21: Buckingham Palace Garden Parties
May 21 – 25: Chelsea Flower Show
June 6: 80th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France and UK
June 15: Trooping the Colour birthday parade in London
June 17: Garter Day parade at Windsor Castle
June 18 – 22: Royal Ascot
Late June: State Visit by Emperor and Empress of Japan
July 3: Holyrood Week in Scotland
October: Two or three-week tour of Australia
In addition to this, he once gifted Prince George a very luxurious pad for his birthday – a £18,000 swanky shepherd’s hut.
When he’s not running around Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, the young royal is able to play in his very own playhouse, which is located on the grounds of the monarch’s Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.
Granted it may not be as large as the extravagant mansions that he’s used to being in, but this shepherd’s hut is no ordinary playhouse.
Forget having a cheap interior, this hut has European oak flooring, a real wood-burner and a luxury daybed, while the double-glazed window frames are made from seasoned English oak.
The hut is placed on the edges of a wildflower meadow in a spot hand-chosen by Charles – so Prince George, and his siblings, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, have a very beautiful view as they play.