The royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2018. Photo / Getty Images
Whether you love or hate them, there is no denying the royal family holds endless fascination for us.
History, tradition and scandal have proven to keep the masses intrigued - that much was clear when Queen Elizabeth II passed away last year, prompting more than 250,000 people to line up outside Westminster Abbey to pay her their respects.
That alone proves they have great power, but as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility - and rules.
Throughout its over 1,000-year reign, the monarchy has had to adapt and move with the times while maintaining its own traditions - and some of the rules and regulations they have to live by are wild to fathom for the general public.
So, as we approach the one-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death, we reflect on some truly wild facts about the family.
From unlikely first names to bizarre weight rules, here are 10 facts you may not know about the royal family.
Most people have a nickname - it’s usually a shortened version of your full-length name. For Queen Elizabeth, she was reportedly referred to as Lizzie, or Lilibet. Prince William is reportedly referred to as Wills or Will by his nearest and dearest. But for some of the royal family, their nicknames have become the ones we know them by.
King Charles Philip Arthur George
When the King ascended to the throne last September following the death of the Queen, he was given the opportunity to make one of his middle names his official title. This could have been Philip, Arthur or George, but as we know, he chose to keep Charles.
Catherine Middleton
She commonly goes by Kate, but the Princess of Wales was christened Catherine Elizabeth Middleton.
Henry Charles Albert David
Also known as Prince Harry, the youngest son of King Charles and the late Princess Diana was born Henry, but has rarely been called that unless except in official circumstances.
Rachel Meghan Markle
Much like her other half, Meghan isn’t the Duchess of Sussex’s given first name. It’s actually Rachel. While it’s unclear when she first started going by Meghan instead of Rachel, it has been widely reported the change was due to how catchy the alliteration of Meghan Markle sounds.
Royal family’s last name
Even though they rarely use it, the royal family do have a last name. In 1952, soon after Elizabeth’s accession, she declared she and her family would use the Windsor surname. That was then modified in 1960, with the royal family website stating the late Queen and the late Duke of Edinburgh would like their own direct descendants to take Mountbatten-Windsor as their last names.
Recently, Princess Kate turned down a request from a group of schoolchildren to sign their picture while she was on a surprise visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in May. The reason wasn’t because she didn’t want to, but rather that she isn’t allowed to.
Asked why she couldn’t sign her name, she explained, “My name’s Catherine. I’m not allowed to write my signature, it’s just one of those rules.”
The Daily Express has previously reported members of the royal family are advised to avoid signing their names for autographs to avoid the potential for forgery. They are, however, allowed to draw pictures and pose for selfies or photos.
Hopping on the scales after feasting at the Christmas lunch table is the last thing on most people’s minds. But that’s not the case if you’re a royal.
In a bizarre tradition upheld by the late Queen Elizabeth, it is believed William and Kate would have been asked by King Charles to weigh themselves following their festive meal at Sandringham last year.
The odd move, which dates back to King Edward VII in the early 1900s, was understood to be a way of ensuring guests had been well-fed and were having a good time.
Prince Harry spilled a lot of interesting information in his bombshell memoir Spare, but one of the more wild facts is that his father, King Charles, does half-naked headstands every morning.
Intended to help overcome “constant neck and back pain” resulting from old polo injuries, Harry explained in the book there was always a danger of stumbling across an upside-down Charles wearing little more than boxer shorts while the family stayed together at Balmoral.
“Prescribed by his physio, these exercises were the only effective remedy for the constant pain in Pa’s neck and back,” Harry wrote. “He performed them daily, in a pair of boxers, propped against a door or hanging from a bar like a skilled acrobat.”
Talking about a brief encounter at the Scotland residence, Harry said: “If you set one little finger on the knob you would hear him begging from the other side, ‘No! No! Don’t open! Please God, don’t open!’”
It might be one of the more grim rules royal family members are obliged to follow, but it’s one of utter preparedness. When travelling overseas, there’s one outfit they must always pack - a completely black outfit in case a member of the royal family dies.
Queen Elizabeth unfortunately didn’t follow the rule in 1952 when her father King George VI suddenly passed while she was visiting Kenya with Prince Philip. Upon returning to London, she was forced to wait on her plane until an appropriate mourning outfit was delivered to her on board.
In addition to the rule, members of the family must wear black for the entire period of mourning.
When it comes to influential kids of the world, you would assume a future King - AKA Prince George, 10 - would be sitting rather high on the list. but it appears his 8-year-old sister has overtaken him.
In research conducted by Electric Ride on Cars that has been widely cited by world media, they found Princess Charlotte of Wales ranks as the world’s richest child, with a huge net worth of GBP£3.6 billion (NZ$7.6b). Meanwhile, Prince George has a reported net worth of £2.4b ($5.1b).
But this doesn’t exactly mean that’s what their bank accounts hold. InStyle has reported the value was calculated based on estimated economic influence over their lifetimes, not real dollars. Essentially, it means Charlotte has more economic sway than George, as many items she has been seen wearing have quickly sold out or seen huge sale increases - much like her mother.
Despite it sounding a little bizarre to us common folk, travelling with your own personal blood supply is just another normal part of travel for the royals in case they become unwell in countries where it’s difficult to access blood supply.
Royal editor Adam Helliker told Fabulous Digital: “The Queen always travels with a supply of blood which is placed in the responsibility of whichever doctor is on duty and accompanies her on duties and royal tours.”
“This means that in a country where speedy access to a reliable blood supply cannot be guaranteed, such as remote parts of Africa, the sovereign and her consort will be able to receive blood transfusions if they were required for a medical emergency.”
It’s unclear if this is still standard practice now that Charles is the monarch.
It’s a tough job being monarch of the Commonwealth, which is perhaps why it was once reported that Her Majesty consumed four alcoholic beverages a day.
Her former chef Darren McGrady, who cooked for her from 1982-1993, said the queen enjoyed a gin and Dubonnet with a slice of lemon and lots of ice before lunch, a glass of wine after her meal, a dry gin martini in the afternoon and a glass of champagne before she went to bed.
However, he later clarified his comments stating they had been misreported and she didn’t drink every day, especially not to that extent. “She’d be pickled if she drank that much,” he told CNN.
In 2019, before the highly anticipated release of the four-part docuseries Secrets of the Royal Palaces, the Sun reported Buckingham Palace has an ATM machine installed in one of its many 775 rooms.
The fact was originally confirmed in 2001 by the now-former head of Coutts bank, Gordon Pell, who told the Standard there is indeed a private ATM hidden away in the basement. It’s unknown if the cash withdrawal machine is still there or whether Charles has had it removed following his ascension.
The royal family has come a long way, but it wasn’t that long ago they celebrated having their first royal bride who had completed a university education.
In 2011, upon marrying Prince William, Princess Kate became the first royal bride with a university degree. The mother of three graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 2005 with a master’s in art history.
And while she was the first, she won’t be the last educated bride. In 2018, when Prince Harry and Meghan wed, she followed in Kate’s well-educated steps, with degrees in theatre and international studies from Northwestern University.
Lillie Rohan is an Auckland-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things relationships and dating, great Taylor Swift ticket wars and TV shows you simply cannot miss out on.
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