23/03/23
King Charles III will be crowned on 6th May in a £100m medieval ceremony paid for by the tax-payer. Coach John uncovers some unusual facts about the new monarch.
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Useful Vocabulary
stuffed: filled with something
homesickness: feeling sad because of a longing for home or family while away from them
fray: to (cause to) become worn into loose threads at the edge or end
nanny: a person employed to look after children in their own home. (Mary Poppins was a nanny)
pickiness: the state of being fussy or finicky; too particular
damson gin: a liqueur, usually homemade, made from damson plums macerated in a sugar and gin syrup for eight weeks or more. Vodka is sometimes used in place of gin. The proof will vary somewhat but is generally around 44
valet: a male servant who attends to the personal needs of his employer, as by taking care of clothing; manservant.
fussy: hard to satisfy or please (See also picky)
Listen to the audio and read the text.
God Save King Charles?
He still takes his childhood teddy bear everywhere.
King Charles’ childhood stuffed bear goes by the name of Teddy. As a child, Charles slept with Teddy every night, and in his teenage years, he took Teddy to school to combat homesickness and unhappiness.
Even as an adult it travels everywhere with him. When it loses a button or begins to fray, his childhood nanny has to mend Teddy.
A confessed adulterer.
He publicly admitted cheating on Princess Diana in 1994, which today, as head of the Church of England, should have barred him from ascending the throne.
He has a really long name.
When he was a prince, his full name and titles were; His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
He’s a picky eater (to say the least).
Not only does he insist on having his eggs boiled for exactly seven minutes, he also asks to have tea, muffins and seven boiled eggs served to him every day between 4 and 5 p.m.
But his pickiness doesn’t just stop there: He also asks his chefs to put poached eggs on top of every meal, steam his vegetables in a specific type of mineral water, and make his orange and damson gin from the fruits grown at Highgrove, one of his palaces.
His daily routines.
According to Princess Diana’s ex-butler, Paul Burrell, “His pyjamas are pressed every morning, his shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron, the bath plug has to be in a certain position, and the water temperature has to be just tepid, in a bathtub filled only half full.
The king even “has his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning.” Afterwards he starts his strict breakfast routine.
“Wherever the prince goes in the world, the breakfast box goes with him. He has six different types of honey, some special mueslis, his dried fruit and anything that’s a bit special that he is a bit fussy about.”
Along with his breakfast box, King Charles allegedly sends a van of his possessions to his friends’ country houses ahead of his arrival to unload his “bed, furniture and even pictures,” Tina Brown reported in ‘The Palace Papers’.
It is said he even brings his own toilet seat and Kleenex Velvet toilet paper wherever he goes.
He sleeps in the nude.
…Now, try and get rid of that mental image before it scars your brain!
by ECP coach John Hird
Let’s chat about that
- Give a summary of the text to your coach and/or classmates.
- What did Charles confess to in 1994?
- Do you remember what happened to his ex-wife Diana?
- Why do the royals have such long names and so many titles?
- What is Charles picky about? Are you picky about some things?
- Would you like to have a butler and a some valets? What would you ask them to do for you?
- Are you a republican or a monarchist?