4 Surprising Vices King Charles and Queen Camilla Have Admitted To

King Charles and Queen Camilla have spent decades in the public eye, but there are still a few things about them that might come as a surprise. The royal couple has some rather unexpected vices, and they've been surprisingly open about a few of them.

Charles had his own brief tryst with cigarettes when he was younger. As per The Independent, in 1998, he revealed that he had given up smoking at the age of 11, saying, “I gave up smoking at the age of 11. I had one or two strong ones behind the chicken run at school.” He brought up the incident again in 2013 while speaking to respiratory nurses, recalling how he had kicked the habit as a schoolboy. Meanwhile, Camilla opened up about her smoking habit during a conversation with actress Emily Mortimer at a Buckingham Palace reception in November 2024. Mirror reported that when Mortimer asked if she had quit smoking, Camilla replied, “Oh yes, I quit 20 years ago.” Her son, Tom Parker Bowles, backed up her account in a 2025 interview, saying she had given up cigarettes “20, maybe 30 years ago.”

Camilla has admitted to enjoying a glass or two of wine, and her fondness for the drink goes back to her childhood. Her father, Major Bruce Shand, was a wine enthusiast who introduced her to wine tasting during trips to Bordeaux. According to The Independent, she revealed during an impromptu speech at the Vintners’ Hall in 2026, "Probably everybody knows my love of wine, it’s in my blood, and I was brought up by a father whose passion was wine." However, her love of a drink doesn't mean she overindulges. Tom Parker Bowles told Tatler last year that he had “never seen her tipsy in my life,” pushing back against suggestions that his mother drinks excessively.

Charles has a rather unexpected weakness for biscuits. As per Marie Claire, his former butler, Grant Harrold, revealed that the monarch is particularly fond of Bath Oliver biscuits, so much so that Harrold would gift him a packet for his birthday. The King is also reportedly quite particular about how his biscuits are served, with staff said to warm them to his preferred temperature. It might be a small indulgence, but the King's fondness for biscuits is one of his more unusual guilty pleasures.

Camilla has a sweet tooth, and chocolate ice cream is one indulgence she wouldn't want to miss. In an interview with her son, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, she revealed that her ideal last supper would include “some bitter chocolate ice cream, plus strawberries and raspberries and lots of clotted cream.” She would also pair the dessert with a good glass of red wine, joking that since it was her last meal, she'd probably have two.