King Charles has introduced some new changes to Buckingham Palace amid the ongoing Cost of Living crisis – and they will directly affect three of his grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
It has been revealed that the new monarch, who was crowned alongside Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey earlier this month, has decided to lower the temperature of the palace's swimming pool..
According to The Sunday Times, the King's staff have revealed that the thermostat has been lowered and the temperature of the water has dropped.
Staff at the grounds aren't the only people privileged to have access to the pool, as over the past 80 years, nearly every member of the royal family has learnt to swim at Buckingham Palace's pool.
Back in 2014, it was revealed that the-then Duchess of Cambridge was taking his one-year-old son Prince George for weekly swimming lessons in the private pool. Kate was spotted back there again in 2015, just weeks before welcoming Princess Charlotte. And according to royal author Brian Hoey, Prince Philip used to swim regularly until he retired from official duties. It is also thought that William and Kate's youngest children, Charlotte and Louis, have also used the pool in the past.
Brian also revealed in the past that members of the Staff Sports Club can use the pool at "certain specified times" when no member of the royal family wants to swim. Although, of course, there is a special protocol.
"The rule is that if a staff member is swimming and one of the royals appears, they have to get out, unless invited to remain, which often happens," he says in his book, Not In Front of the Corgis: Secrets Of Life Behind The Royal Curtains.
"If when the staff member turns up a royal is already in the pool, the servant, and this includes senior members such as the Private Secretary or Keeper of the Privy Purse, will not attempt to join them. It's a rule that seems to work well."
Staff are also only allowed to swim in a minimum group of three, in case there is ever an accident and so that one can stay with the casualty and the other raise the alarm.
As for appropriate attire, there is no strict clothing code as such, but due to the natural decorum of Palace residents, no overly revealing swimming attire is expected.
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Charles' change is no surprise and goes hand in hand with other many changes he has made at official residences, such as Clarence House, where he has installed solar panels on the roof.
The King's official website also states: "Around half of his office and domestic energy use comes from renewable sources such as woodchip boilers, air-source heat pumps, solar panels and 'green' electricity."
In 2011, Prince Charles had a 5.6kW solar power system installed on his London residence, Clarence House.
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