Charles Spencer is of course related to the royal family through his late sister, Diana, Princess of Wales. The Earl is also famously a descendant of King Charles I, even writing a popular book about the monarch.
But the 59-year-old also shares another special royal connection – and this one is related to Queen Elizabeth II.
As he shared on a recent episode of his podcast, Rabbit Hole Detectives, when he was a child in the 1970s, Charles acted as a page for the late Queen.
Speaking to his co-hosts, Richard Coles and Dr Cat Jarman, the historian and author said: "In the mid-seventies, I was a page of honour to the late Queen and you were really on duty very few times a year, and one of them was at the state opening of Parliament.
© Getty"And you're wearing full on 18th-century kit, really hot and the old TV lights in those days were incredibly hot. So the colonel, Colonel Blair Stewart-Wilson I remember, would take us aside before the ceremony and teach us how to get through the shattering heat and not faint.
© Getty"It was to do with just gently – because this was all televised, you don't want to draw attention to yourself – while the Queen was speaking, presenting the bill of what's coming up in parliament, you just rocked gently on the front of your feet and it's meant to keep your circulation going… I think it's just disengaging from the extreme discomfort around you."
© Getty"Ceremony hurts," Richard concluded in response. "Yes, that's about it," Charles agreed with a laugh. The father-of-seven is now custodian of the Spencer family's ancestral estate, Althorp, where Princess Diana was laid to rest after her tragic death in 1997.
© InstagramThe initial plan was for Diana to be buried in the family vault at the local church, but with concerns for security and privacy, her only brother decided instead to lay her to rest on an island at the centre of the property's oval lake.
© GettyThis means the island must be accessed by boat, and in Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, he explains that he and Prince William rowed over on the 20th anniversary of their mother's death.
Recounting his first-ever visit to the island with Meghan Markle by his side, Harry revealed it wasn't exactly plain sailing – they got stuck!
© Getty"The thick mud of the shallows had us in its grip. Uncle Charles came down to the water’s edge, gave us a little shove," the Duke of Sussex explained.
© RexSince Charles took over the family home following the death of his father, he has continued to make amazing discoveries about the history of the residence.
The Earl and his wife Karen recently opened up the grounds for an archaeological dig and Charles delighted fans when he shared his latest discovery – a keystone from the arch of a Roman villa that once stood on the site.
© InstagramSharing two pictures of the incredible piece on Twitter, he penned: "The beautifully carved keystone (or capstone) from the arch of the Ancient Roman villa at Althorp. We seem to have the rest of the arch, lying in an excavated pile at present, and we will rebuild it - perhaps 1,600 years since it last stood proud."
