Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall have fallen under JK Rowling's spell as they took a visit to the see the Harry Potter-inspired Platform 9 ¾ monument at King's Cross station in London. Posing for pictures next to the famous barrier, the Prince joked that he would struggle to get Camilla away from the monument that celebrates the most popular book series to date. Despite once stating that it was "awful" that the popular magical sequels had drawn to a close, Prince Charles stuck to watching his wife take hold of the wizarding pupil's trolley. Removing the keen Harry Potter fan from her comfortable pose, the Prince quipped: "Come on darling, you'll be there all day."
This, however, was not an average day out for the royal couple. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, the pair joined the hustle and bustle of the tube to take a ride on the capital's most popular transportation system. This was the first time that Charles and Camilla had ridden the tube together. Taking the first ever tube route from Farringdon station to King's Cross, the royal pair were given a limited edition commemorative Oyster card for the journey in memory of the day. Charles last rode on the tube to open to Jubilee line more than 33 years ago, although it is believed that the Duchess used the London Underground prior to her marriage.
It seems, however, that the Prince was more enthralled by the journey than staff had anticipated. The future King exclaimed: "Just one stop?" when the three minute journey ended. When he was asked to drive the train in hand, his response was not as keen. "I'll do as I'm told," Charles jokingly replied. As well as taking a trip on the metro, the pair became the debut passengers on the S-Stock trains, which will soon make up 40% of the tube network. The new air-conditioned vessels delighted Camilla, who commented to the line manager Angela Back that they were "very nice, very smart." The London Underground first opened for service on January 9 in 1863. Serving 270 stations, the transportation system is said to carry more than one billion passengers per year.
