Britain's best-loved gardener Alan Titchmarsh summed up Charles's passions when he told HELLO! last year: "There is no doubting the King's devotion and dedication to the landscape, to the environment, to sustainability. I think we know his feelings, even though he may no longer feel able to express them as King in the way he did as the Prince of Wales."
Throughout his 70 years as heir to the throne, Charles was able to relax and take his mind off his often challenging work through a variety of private passions and will no doubt hope to continue these as monarch. It's no secret the King is a huge advocate of spending time in the natural world.
The King is also a fan of dogs and is completely enamoured of his wife’s Jack Russell rescue pooches, Beth and Bluebell. The Queen Consort adopted the pair from Battersea Dogs & Cats home more than ten years ago and they are part of the family, living with the couple at Clarence House. They are allowed "nearly everywhere" in the royal residence, with one exception: "They are not allowed to sleep on the bed," Her Majesty has said.
The royal couple are also often joined by their canine friends on engagements, such as a visit to the inaugural Dumfries House dog show in 2015, while it is highly likely Beth and Bluebell relish another of Charles's passions – walking. "[He will] walk and walk and walk," Camilla said in 2020. "He's like a mountain goat and leaves everybody miles behind." The King also relishes historic sports and traditions such as the Braemar Gathering in Scotland, where last year, he and the then Duchess of Cornwall were seen enjoying the action along with the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence – the Queen was unable to attend for the first time in her 70-year reign.
No doubt His Majesty also relished being able to spend some time in his beloved Scotland, the country where, in 2007, he brought together a group to help secure the purchase of 18th-century Dumfries House in New Cumnock, shortly before it was meant to be put on the open market and its contents auctioned. Not only did he keep intact the Palladian mansion and the treasures within, which include one of the world’s finest collections of Chippendale furniture, his development of the 2,000-acre estate has transformed the area around it. Millions of pounds have been ploughed into the local economy, providing hundreds of much-needed jobs. In 2016, the then deputy executive director Kenneth Dunsmuir told HELLO! Charles's hands-on involvement was key to its success.
"This is a heritage-led regeneration and his vision has driven this project," he said. "His DNA is all over it. He is in constant touch and he is with us frequently. He has that broad vision and could see that saving the estate was important." Scotland also featured in one of Charles's many books – the 1980 children's story The Old Man of Lochnagar, which was based on tales he told his younger brothers, Princes Andrew and Edward, when they were children. It was so popular he even read it on the BBC storytelling show Jackanory in 1984.
Painting is another hobby on which the King is keen and some of his works have been displayed in exhibitions. A fan of using watercolours to depict beautiful and enchanting landscapes, such as the town of Paro on a visit to Bhutan in 1998, Charles turned to painting after failing to click with photography. He paints whenever the opportunity presents itself and takes his leather painting bag on royal tours in the hope the muse will inspire him. Speaking last year, he said: "You become increasingly aware of things that may have escaped your attention previously – things like the quality of light and shade, of tone and texture and the shape of buildings in relation to the landscape." It all requires the most intense concentration and, consequently, is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic exercises I know. "In fact," he added, "In my case, I find it transports me into another dimension which, quite literally, refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can’t reach."
Charles's passion for painting fits in perfectly with his love of heritage crafts, something that has resulted in many youngsters learning traditional skills through the courses offered by his educational charity The Prince's Foundation. Indeed, he spoke about the need to teach the next generation these skills, many of which were used at Dumfries House, when he appeared on hit BBC show The Repair Shop. "He loves heritage crafts," presenter Jay Blades told us last year, after he had filmed the special episode with the royal. "That's what I love and we're trying to make sure it's more accessible to everybody."
Charles has also realised his love of tradition in the village of Poundbury, an urban extension to the Dorset county town of Dorchester that was built on the principles of architecture he advocated in his 1989 book A Vision of Britain. "When I set out on this venture, I was determined that Poundbury would break the mould of conventional housing development in this country, and create an attractive place for people to live, work and play," he said in 2016. "Many people said that it could never succeed, but I am happy to say that the sceptics were wrong and it is now a thriving urban settlement alongside Dorchester."
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