After a "Relentless" Few Months, King Charles Must Complete a "Crucial Duty" Before He Can Take His Summer Vacation

There's no rest for the wicked.

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King Charles has white gray hair and one of his eyes is bloodshot with a pink spot and he wears a light gray suit with a tie
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2026 has been exceedingly busy for the Royal Family. King Charles, in particular, has had a frantic schedule as monarch. But before The King can take his much-needed summer vacation, there's one thing he is required to do, one royal expert reports.

Hello! magazine's royal editor, Emily Nash, shared, "[A]s The King looks ahead to a few precious weeks of downtime in Scotland, following next Thursday's opening of the Commonwealth Games, there is one final piece of business that cannot wait."

Rather than being able to enjoy a quiet period at work before his summer vacation officially begins, King Charles will be "appointing a new prime minister," says Nash. Basically, the monarch's job is literally never finished.

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Britain's King Charles III (R) meets with Britain's incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London on July 5, 2024

King Charles and outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer in July 2024.

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The high turnover of prime ministers in the U.K. is not only low-key embarrassing, it's also fairly unprecedented. For reference, Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years, during which she worked with 15 different prime ministers. Meanwhile, Labour Party politician Andy Burnham will be the fourth prime minister King Charles has worked with during his reign, which is yet to pass the 4-year mark.

Having inherited one prime minister from his mother's tenure on the throne (Liz Truss), Burnham will only be the third person whom King Charles has invited to form a government. Per Nash, "At this rate, Charles would overtake his mother's record of 15 prime ministers by 2037."

Queen Camilla holding an umbrella and King Charles waving his arms in front of a penguin enclosure at the London Zoo

Just let the man go on his summer vacation, already!

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Nash further noted that, alongside his cancer treatment, King Charles has been tasked with "navigating political upheaval, international crises, and family challenges, all while maintaining a remarkably full program of public engagements."

Clearly, when The King finally does embark upon his summer vacation, he'll have well and truly earned the rest.

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Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
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.