His Majesty's magical tours: How to travel like King Charles
His Majesty’s magical tours: The King has visited countries far and wide on private holidays. Follow in his footsteps for a right royal break
- King Charles has skied in the Swiss resort of Klosters for more than 40 years
- During the 1980s, he and his family spent many happy holidays in Majorca
- READ MORE: London to Folkestone leg of Orient Express to be axed due to Brexit
He has travelled to every continent on multiple occasions by almost every conceivable means. He was, after all, the first passenger on board the Royal Yacht Britannia (sailing out to the Mediterranean on her maiden voyage, aged five, to rendezvous with his parents).
And the King was the first member of his family to make official visits to places as varied as Bhutan, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.
As a young man, he presided over independence ceremonies in Fiji and the Bahamas. In his 70s, he watched the Royal Standard come down in Barbados.
But where has our new King enjoyed going for pleasure?
Spanish sojourn
During the 1980s, King Charles, Princess Diana and their boys spent many happy holidays in Majorca as guests of the Spanish monarch. Above is the island’s Calo des Moro beach
King Charles and Diana – pictured above with King Juan Carlos and his family – enjoyed many boat trips around the coast during their time in Majorca
During the 1980s, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their boys spent many happy holidays in Majorca as guests of the Spanish monarch.
King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophia entertained them at their summer residence, the Marivent Palace, just outside Palma. The King kept his yacht nearby and there would be regular trips around the coast. The Prince’s cousins, the Knatchbulls, had a villa in the area, too.
BOOK IT: Three nights’ B&B at the five-star Cap Rocat hotel (caprocat.com) costs £1,120, based on two sharing a room in mid October. Ryanair (ryanair.com) London to Mallorca from £73 return.
Sunshine in Corfu
Greece has been a regular destination for much of the King’s life. He made several low-key pilgrimages to Mount Athos in northern Greece, and he and the Queen Consort have also enjoyed private breaks on Corfu, the island with strong personal connections; Corfu was the birthplace of the King’s father, Prince Philip.
BOOK IT: Seven-night stay at five-bed luxury villa St George’s House (cvvillas.com), close to Kassiopi, from £765pp based on ten sharing and travel in early October. Flights with easyJet are included.
Transylvanian castle
Directly descended from Transylvanian nobility, King Charles felt a connection to Romania during his 1998 visit. Above is Bran Castle in Transylvania
In 1998, following the collapse of communism, the Prince of Wales made an official visit to Romania and was enchanted by the Saxon towns and churches.
Directly descended from Transylvanian nobility, the Prince felt a connection. He started to make private visits and was captivated by the rural way of life, which is under threat.
BOOK IT: One night full-board in ‘The Prince’s Room’ at the King’s Zalan Valley Guesthouse (zalan.transylvaniancastle.com) from £186. Wizz Air (wizzair.com) London to Brasov from £138.
Florence art
The young Prince Charles found great solace in painting, a hobby and skill he inherited from his father. However, it was Charles’s first official tour of Italy, with Diana in 1985, that was an epiphany.
He adored Venice, Milan and Florence. This was also the first tour on which he invited a professional artist to accompany him and, thereafter, he would always take one.
BOOK IT: A six-day half-board watercolour course in Florence on July 8 with Painting Holiday Italy (paintingholidayitaly.com) costs from £1,811pp. London to Florence with British Airways (ba.com) costs from £244 return.
Welsh cottage
Charles was the first Prince of Wales in six centuries to take the trouble to learn Welsh. He spent a term at Aberystwyth University prior to his investiture in 1969, learning the basics and, to this day, likes to sprinkle some Welsh into any speech he makes there. In 2007, he bought a small Welsh farmhouse through the Duchy of Cornwall and stayed there when he could.
BOOK IT: A three-night stay for four in two-bed barn conversion West Range cottage (duchyofcornwallholidaycottagesco.uk), on the Prince of Wales’s Welsh royal residence in Llwynywermod, is £857.50 based on early September departures.
Swiss slopes
King Charles has been skiing in the Swiss Alpine resort of Klosters for more than 40 years
There is no foreign holiday destination King Charles likes more than the Swiss Alpine resort of Klosters.
He has been skiing there for more than 40 years, staying with his friends Charlie and Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, with whom he has been skiing ever since. His love of the sport and for this pretty village, which links up with the ski area of Davos, are fully reciprocated by the people of Klosters.
BOOK IT: B&B doubles at the Hotel Wynegg (wynegg.ch) from £106 per night. EasyJet (easyjet.com) London to Zurich, 1 hour 40 minutes’ drive away, from £54 return.
Splendid isolation
After the death of King George VI, the Queen Mother derived great solace and pleasure from renovating a small fortress near the northernmost tip of Scotland — The Castle of Mey.
After her death, in 2002, the Prince of Wales was determined to keep the place going as a local visitor attraction and in homage to the grandmother he adored. He still likes to stay there for several nights each year and is a proud patron of the Highland Games.
BOOK IT: Three-bed self-catering property The Captain’s House (castleofmey.org.uk) sleeps six for a week break on June 10 at £1,217.
Royal favourite
There is no doubt Balmoral is where the King is happiest of all. Since boyhood he has loved the Scottish Highlands, as his mother did before him. So much so that he even wrote a children’s book about them, The Old Man Of Lochnagar.
Since the death of the Queen Mother, he has based himself at her old home on the estate, Birkhall.
BOOK IT: Two nights’ B&B at The Fife Arms hotel (thefifearms.com) in Braemar in early September costs £1,002.
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