You can imagine that not everything is as it is for the average person with the British royals, but you can’t imagine how strange some traditions and rules are. These are the 25 most curious facts about the royal family.
The British royals are one of the oldest, richest, most famous and most traditional families in the world. Of course, it is inevitable that some bizarre and curious secrets, protocols and stories surround the castle walls.
There are some strange facts about the royals, here are 25 of them:
- The reigning monarch, currently King Charles III, celebrates his birthday twice a year: once on November 14, his real birthday, with his family, and once in June with his people at the Trooping the Colour parade.
- The royals do not give autographs. Although they are at least as famous as other celebrities, the palace prohibits them from giving autographs because of the risk of forgery. Several members of the crown have already confirmed this publicly.
- The reigning monarch does not need a driver’s license, nor does he need a driving test or a passport. All other members of the royal family, however, do.
- Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip were actually related. To be more precise, they were third cousins; Queen Victoria was their great-great-grandmother. Until the middle of the 20th century, it was common for royal circles to marry each other.
- The women of the royal family always wear tights. Although this is not a strict rule, it is a tradition among the royals that women do not show bare legs.
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Shellfish are taboo at official meals. To keep the risk of food poisoning as low as possible, the royals are not supposed to eat mussels, clams or shrimp.
- Queen Elizabeth was always woken up between 7 and 9 a.m. by a bagpiper outside her window at Balmoral Castle. The Queen loved the traditional instrument, which was also played at her funeral.
- The royals not only own dogs and horses, they also own the largest population of swans in Britain. The King’s Swan Marker looks after the swans on British waters. The ownership arrangement dates back to a time when swans were eaten as a delicacy.
- There is a Monopoly ban within the British royal family. The illustrious family board game is considered “too evil”. Prince Andrew once revealed this information. However, the king’s favorite game is charades anyway.
- The king is said to have his butler iron his shoelaces every morning. In the 2018 Amazon Prime documentary “Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm,” Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s former butler, claimed that King Charles has set rituals every morning: “His pajamas are ironed every morning, his shoelaces are flattened with the iron, the bath plug has to be in a certain position and the water temperature can only be lukewarm.”
- Diana was no stranger to King Charles. The Spencer family lived on Sandringham Estate, and her father leased a house on the royal estate. As a child, she is said to have played with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, who were closer to her in age than Charles.
- Warnings that there is danger behind the fence of Buckingham Palace should be taken seriously, because the guards are actually legally allowed to use force to protect the palace and all those inside from intruders.
- Until the end of the First World War, the royal family’s surname was not Mountbatten-Windsor, but Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth, changed the name, which had roots in both Belgium and Germany, to something more “British”.
- According to Dickie Arbiter, royal correspondent and former press secretary to the Queen herself, many senior members of the royal family, including the Queen then and Prince Philip and now King Charles, travel with banks of their own blood in tow, just in case a blood transfusion needs to be considered in the event of a medical emergency.
- Garlic ban. Queen Camilla confirmed in 2018 that garlic is largely banned for royals, especially when carrying out their official duties, so that they don’t stink.
- The Great Christmas Weigh-In: According to reports, there is a bizarre, long-standing tradition of the Queen asking her guests at Sandringham to step on the scales before the traditional Christmas dinner on December 25th. She then asked them to do the same after the meal. The idea was to make sure everyone had feasted sufficiently and enjoyed as much food as they wanted.
- Until 2019, the monarchy had an official stamp keeper who guarded and maintained a private stamp collection originally started by Prince Alfred. However, no one seems to be interested in it anymore, so the entire collection was moved to Buckingham Palace. It is said that the entire collection is worth around £100 million.
- There is always a piece of wedding cake in the freezer. The royals freeze pieces of their wedding cake to traditionally eat at the christening of their future children. Most recently, this is said to have been done at the births of the three Wales children.
- Queen Elizabeth had her shoes broken in by her closest confidant and employee, Angela Kelly.
- Prince Charles first dated Diana’s sister. Diana’s older sister Sarah Spencer (now Lady Sarah McCorquodale) reportedly first dated then-Prince Charles in 1977, when he was in his late 20s and she was in her early 20s, just a few years before he married Princess Diana.
- According to a Channel 5 documentary called “Secrets Of The Royal Palaces,” Buckingham Palace has its own ATM. The revelation was made by former Coutts Bank boss Gordon Pell. He explained that Coutts – the royals’ preferred bank – installed the ATM in the palace’s basement several years ago.
- Strange junk presents are given to amuse everyone, mainly at Christmas. At least among adults, it is not the price that counts, but the amusement factor of the gift. It is said that Prince William once gave his grandmother, the Queen, a pair of slippers with her face on them.
- The Queen would send signals to her staff by the position of her handbag. For example, if she switched her bag from one arm to the other, it meant she wanted to end the conversation and then someone would appear and say something like: “XY would like to speak to you.”
- Not a Marilyn Monroe moment. The women of the royal family sometimes have small weights sewn into the hem of their coats and dresses so that they hang well and don’t fly up. Designer Steward Parvin revealed this to the “Daily Mail” in 2018.
- King Charles, or the reigning monarch, must approve the marriages of the first six heirs to the throne. This regulation dates back to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.
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Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
