King Charles
Two bizarre morning routines get him ready for the day
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King Charles is known to always have a busy schedule. To get going in the morning, the monarch has adopted a rather unusual routine.
King Charles is woken up by the sound of bagpipes
While our one is usually woken from sleep by the shrill ringing of the alarm clock, the British monarch is woken up by the sound of bagpipes. And they don’t come off the assembly line, but are produced by Pipe Major Paul Burns himself – in every royal residence where the king spends the night.
The job of the professional bagpiper is, among other things, to wake the royal every day with two seven-minute performances, with a one-minute break in between to tune the Scottish instrument. He previously did this for Queen Elizabeth, †96, until her death in September 2022. The tradition dates back to Queen Victoria in 1843.
Prince Harry feared disturbing his father during bizarre exercise
In addition to the sounds of the bagpipes and a balanced breakfast for a good start to the day, the 74-year-old also attaches great importance to another morning routine. At least he did when he was still the Prince of Wales, as his youngest son Prince Harry, 39, revealed in his memoir Spare.
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According to his memories, back at Balmoral Castle, he was afraid to knock on his father’s bedroom door for fear of what he would find on the other side. He suffered from “constant neck and back pain” – a consequence of playing polo for years – and therefore did half-naked headstands every day to combat his suffering.
“These exercises were the only effective remedy for the constant pain in Pa’s neck and back,” the Duke of Sussex said in his tell-all book. “He did them every day, wearing only his underpants, leaning against the door or hanging from a pole like an acrobat.” It is not known whether this is still part of the king’s morning routine today. It would still be a funny idea.
Sources used: twitter.com, express.co.uk, “Spare”/Prince Harry