Royals

Camilla: Charles is ‘not one for chilling’

Prince Charles and Camilla in the current issue of Country Life on which Charles was guest editor.

In a candid interview at an engagement during the couple’s current tour of south-west India, Camilla revealed that Prince Charles could afford to “chill out” more.

The Duchess exposed Charles as a workaholic, and fretted she may struggled to compete for his attention as he reaches his milestone birthday, as the longest is “obsessed” with work.

“I am hopping up and down and saying, ‘Darling do you think we could have a bit of, you know, peace and quiet, enjoy ourselves together?” she said.

“But he always has to finish something. He is so in the zone, working, working, working.”

Camilla also revealed her husband was particularly difficult to buy for. “He is a man!” she said. “They are hopeless!”.

“He likes to make a list of things that he wants so you get it exactly right. I find this time of year impossible as it’s his birthday and then it’s Christmas, so you have got two in a row. Everybody else is easy but he is not.”

Despite the difficulty, Camilla revealed she has in fact found the perfect gift for the Prince.

“He collects a lot of things and it is something special – china – that I have found,” she said.

“It’s what he really likes. And I know he will be happy with it.”

The couple were taking a day off from their busy touring schedule before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka, which Prince Charles will open on behalf of his mother the Queen.

Camilla insisted she would take the day to “chill out completely”, but when pressed on whether the Prince would be relaxing by her side, she expressed her doubts.

“I shall do my best,” she said.

“If there’s a little hint of sun I might just persuade him to go for a walk or sit outside. He loves walking, so that might do it.

“We see the sun all the time but we never get the chance to just go and sit in it. So that would be bliss. So maybe I will persuade him.

“But no, my husband is not one for chilling.”

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