There's One Normal Royal Outing King Charles Always Skipped

Queen Camilla and King Charles smile while sampling some wine and beers

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Alongside his royal homes like Clarence House and Balmoral, King Charles also owns a private family home, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, England. But according to a former Royal Family staff member, there's one thing The King rarely does when staying at the property.

Speaking to fintech company SumUp, Jack Stooks—a former staff member at King Charles's private home—discussed the local pubs and bars the royals liked to frequent. "When I was at Highgrove, William and Harry used to go to the local pubs quite often," the gardener shared. "There was one called The Cat and Custard that they always used to go with their friends."

Stooks continued, "We would all be drinking with our friends and they would sit on the table next to us and say hello. It was all very normal and informal." According to the former royal staffer, members of the general public didn't interfere with William and Harry's social gatherings, either.

"They were left alone when they were there," Stooks noted. "It was nice for them to just be able to go to the pub and be 'normal' for a time, without all eyes being on them."

King Charles poses at his private property, Highgrove House.

However, when it comes to visiting bars and pubs, King Charles and older members of the Royal Family have apparently always made rather different choices. "The older royals were a bit different," Stooks noted. "The late Queen, she would go to higher end places. She loved going to The Ritz, for example."

Stooks continued, "We've seen The King do visits to pubs, pulling pints and talking to staff—but I've never known him to just go out to just sit in a pub for dinner or anything like that."

Instead, going out "was more [for] the younger royals," Stooks noted, suggesting they were more likely to meet up with friends or attend sporting events for fun. "They wouldn't take any staff, they would drive themselves, and just have a good time," he told the outlet.

Highgrove House and a field of flowers leading up to the exterior of the home — Highgrove House.

The former royal gardener also noted that members of the Royal Family favored "nice, normal pubs," regardless of whether "fancy" food was served. "They really enjoyed just going to the local pubs like the rest of us," he shared.

Stooks continued, "When William started dating [Princess] Kate, they would go to the local pubs. The Potting Shed, which is about 20 minutes from Highgrove, was one they used to go to." According to Stooks, Zara and Mike Tindall, along with Zara's brother, Peter Phillips, also favored "staying local."

It appears as though King Charles is perfectly happy having a drink or two at home, rather than visiting any local establishments, however.

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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.