King Charles is spending most of his time on holiday in Scotland at his own home, Birkhall, and is not sleeping at Balmoral Castle with the rest of the vacationing royal family, the Daily Beast understands.
The cancer-hit king is spending his days at his Scottish baronial-style manor with Queen Camilla by his side, recharging his batteries by painting and tending to his beloved gardens, a source told The Daily Beast.
The source said: “The king is sleeping a lot. He is not one to sit around doing nothing, so relaxing for him takes the form of reading, writing, painting, and gardening. He has always loved throwing on his wellies and getting out in the garden, that’s his happy place.”
The source said they were unsure of what specific treatments Charles is receiving for his cancer while in Scotland, but said they understood the king had treatment when he was in London last week.
Birkhall is within the Balmoral estate, and was formerly the retreat of the late Queen Mother, who was gifted the property by her husband, the future King George VI, in 1930, it having first come into royal hands when Prince Albert bought the Balmoral Estate in 1852. Upon the Queen Mother’s death, the 12 bedroom property reverted to the Crown and was handed to Charles by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Odd as it may seem to have an enormous house in the grounds of an even more gigantic one, Birkhall is understood to be particularly cherished by Charles because it offers a considerably more private and intimate setting than Balmoral. It was in the grounds of Birkhall that Charles was famously soothing himself by picking mushrooms when his mother died.
So it is perhaps no surprise that although the king participated in a traditional formal welcome to Balmoral Castle last week, he has continued to base himself at Birkhall, while other royals, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, have been made welcome at “the big house,” as the castle is commonly known.
It was to Birkhall that the king repaired with William for an intimate dinner after the death of the queen, a strategy that avoided either of them having to see Prince Harry who arrived at Balmoral separately from and after the main royal party. The move cemented Birkhall’s status as the king’s refuge and sanctuary.
The king is not participating in lengthy days of shooting and fishing with his family, as he usually would, and as the late Queen Elizabeth always did, the source said, instead joining shooting parties briefly, if at all.
The other royals have been out shooting grouse, a prized wild game bird which lives on the type of Scottish moorland which surrounds the castle, but the shooting has been “disappointing” across all of Scotland this year, with breeding affected by unusual weather patterns. Balmoral is no exception, another source said.
“We have all been hit for six this year, including at Balmoral,” the shooting source said, “Balmoral has wonderful gamekeepers, but there is only so much you can do when you’re getting driving rain and snow in May. All the shoots have been very quiet. That won’t stop the royals going out and having a good walk and lunch in the hut of course, but it does rather take the shine off things when there are no birds.”
It is not just his ongoing battle with cancer that has made it an unusual vacation for Charles. Last week, he broke with tradition by interrupting his holiday to fly south to the northwestern English town of Southport, which was rocked by rioting after three young children were stabbed to death while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
He is thought to have spent two nights at his home in London. On Wednesday he held a private meeting with the bereaved families of the three murdered children at his London home, Clarence House. He is believed to have received cancer treatment there before choppering back to Scotland on Friday.
On Sunday he was keen to signal business as usual, going to church with Kate, who was herself making a dramatic statement about her recovery by attending the Sunday service.
Charles’ decision to interrupt his vacation to go to Southport was an important and appropriate act in recognition of the seriousness of what occurred there.
However, some insiders last week told the Daily Beast that they fear the king’s determination to maintain a hectic schedule of events despite still having cancer risks derailing his recovery.
Voices urging the king to “slow down” include his wife Camilla (who, sources say, is the one person he might listen to).
One insider has now reiterated that fear to The Daily Beast, saying, “I actually think William could have deputized for Charles at Southport. I have tremendous admiration for the incredibly brave way Charles has conducted himself over the past six months but he is not well, it is plainly apparent just from looking at him, and things can go wrong very fast with cancer.”
Insiders urging caution over his packed schedule are increasingly nervous about a grueling overseas tour to Australia and Samoa planned for October. The Daily Beast’s source said, “He is the king and everyone understands he wants to get on and do the job. His bravery and courage in the face of what he is facing is amazing. But plenty of people would prefer it if he wasn’t going.”
It should be noted that the prevailing mood among Charles’ advisers at Buckingham Palace is enormously supportive of the king’s full-fat return to public duties, although a friend of Camilla told the Daily Beast last week: “Camilla would have been deeply unhappy that having only begun his holiday on Monday, he broke it off on Tuesday to do an incredibly intense engagement. Of course, she understands it was very important and there is no way she would try to tell Charles what to do, but it seems to be extraordinary timing. She wants him to slow down, she is afraid he is working too hard, and that’s before you even get to the Australia tour.”
Another source said last week: “I think there has been a lot of positive spin about the king doing well, getting back to work and so on. But, you know, he has cancer. He is not well. He looked frail in Southport on Tuesday in my opinion. You only have to look at photographs from now compared to a year ago and it’s obvious: He has lost a lot of weight and aged considerably. Camilla has been telling him to take a break but he is a workaholic, he won’t listen.”
Buckingham Palace did not return a request for comment.
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