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    Former Classmate Says King Charles "Could Have Had as Many Girlfriends as He Wanted," as Evidenced by the Regular "Disappearance" of His Underwear

    "Special precautions were taken to ensure that nothing marked with his name would ever get 'lost' again."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 2 May 2026 In News

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    King Charles has gray hair and is wearing a gray suit
    (Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
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    King Charles is happily married to wife Queen Camilla, but according to one of the monarch's former classmates, life could have been very different for the royal. In fact, when King Charles was attending school, his underwear was reportedly known to get "lost" from time to time.

    In the book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward discussed King Charles's seemingly shy approach to romance when he attended Gordonstoun Boarding School in Scotland. In spite of his reticence when it came to dating, King Charles allegedly had no shortage of romantic prospects at the time.

    "One thing Charles was suspicious of was social functions," Seward shared. "When a party of 25 girls were invited to a dance at Gordonstoun, Charles went off to spend the weekend with his grandmother [the Queen Mother] at Birkhall, her house on the Balmoral estate."

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    According to the royal expert, King Charles refused to return the next day, even though the girls were engaging in a game of tennis—a sport he was very passionate about. Per Seward, "[H]e didn't reappear until well after the girls had departed."

    My Mother and I

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    King Charles driving his convertible Aston Martin

    "Charles could have had as many girlfriends as he wanted."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    The King's former classmate, Ross Benson, told Seward, "Charles could have had as many girlfriends as he wanted, and even the school maids would stare and giggle amongst themselves if they saw him. They also had a penchant for purloining his underwear, and after the disappearance of some of his clothes sent for washing, there were special precautions taken to ensure that nothing marked with his name would ever get 'lost' again."

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    "They also had a penchant for purloining his underwear."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Basically, at one point in time, King Charles's underwear was hot property. And if he hadn't built a life with Queen Camilla, he'd reportedly have many romantic suitors.

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    Weekend Editor

    Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

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