ven royalty can have moments of confusion in the kitchen, and one story involving King Charles and a roll of cling film is now the stuff of royal legend.

According to Rebel Prince, the explosive biography by author Tom Bower, the king once had a rather dramatic reaction when encountering cling film for the first time.

The book claims that during a moment at home, then-Prince Charles “shrieked” and visibly “trembled”  after entering the dining room and seeing the mysterious plastic wrap covering his food. Luckily, Queen Camilla was nearby to calm his nerves.
King Charles reportedly ‘shrieked’ after encountering cling film for the first time (Credit: Cover Images)

King Charles ‘shrieked’ after seeing clingfilm

The unusual encounter was reportedly witnessed by Queen Camilla, who rushed into the room after hearing his startled cry.

“He walked into the dining room and shrieked,” Tom wrote. “Fearing the worst, Camilla dashed in after him. ‘What’s this?’ asked her husband, pointing at the food. ‘It’s cling film, darling,’ she replied.”

The anecdote is used in the book to illustrate Charles’s apparent detachment from everyday life, a recurring concern of his father, the late Prince Philip.

Tom noted that Philip believed Charles lacked “normal” life experience. His bewilderment over something as common as cling film was an indicator of that.

The excerpt originally appeared in The Guardian in 2018 and sparked fascination among royal watchers. However, Clarence House declined to comment at the time of the book’s publication.

Without official confirmation, it’s unclear whether the story unfolded exactly as described.

Tom’s book also revealed several quirks about King Charles’s daily routine.

Among them: reportedly changing outfits up to four times a day, skipping lunch, and always pausing for sandwiches at precisely 5 p.m.

He is said to continue working into the night, sometimes until midnight, and expects a level of extreme precision from his 120-person staff, including having ironed shoelaces and perfectly measured bathwater.

Queen Camilla informed her husband about the unfamiliar kitchen tool (Credit: Cover Images)

King Charles’ relationship with food

Elsewhere in the biography, Tom claimed that Charles once travelled with his own mattress, toilet seat and Kleenex Velvet toilet paper when visiting a friend.

He also allegedly spent nearly £19,000 taking the royal train to visit a pub. In another incident, the king complained after flying Club Class with British Airways on a trip from London to Hong Kong.

“It took me some time to realise … that this was not first class,” Charles allegedly wrote in his journal. “It puzzled me as to why the seat seemed so uncomfortable. Such is the end of Empire, I sighed to myself.”

His 120-person staff reportedly includes gardeners who hand-pluck weeds, and even men tasked with collecting slugs by torchlight.

Tom also claims that Charles brought his own food to events and smashed radios when irritated by the news.

Despite his royal fussiness, Charles told the BBC in 2021 he skips meat and fish two days a week and avoids dairy once a week.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady also revealed his fondness for Italian food, especially lamb.

“He was a foodie,” Darren told Delish in 2020. “He loved to know what was being served and where it was sourced from. He’s a big fan of lamb.”