This drink is a favourite of the King (Image: Getty)
King Charles has sampled some of the finest wines and liqueurs the world has to offer, yet it appears the monarch favours the very same tipple each evening “before dinner”. What’s more, when he is away from Clarence House or Highgrove House, the King is notoriously particular about how his drink is prepared.
In the Channel 4 documentary, The Real Windsors: The Outspoken Heir, King Charles’ friend Count Tibor Kalnoky revealed how the royal developed his passion for Transylvania, and the beverage he would savour “every night” while in the Eastern European nation. Tibor said: “Prince Charles discovered this very unique corner of Europe and has been coming to this place every year.”
Two years ago, the then Prince travelled to Romania and met with Tibor, who helped him find a property.
“I showed him the place and he said it was everything he had been looking for. We spent some time renovating the whole thing,” Tibor added.
Charles enjoys same drink every night ‘before dinner’ but it must be served a certain way (Image: Getty)
The King acquired a modest country retreat in Viscri, Transylvania, where he is said to have spent many a relaxing stay, soaking up the picturesque surroundings.
During his time at the property, the King is said to have indulged in the very same drink “every night before dinner”. Tibor revealed: “He likes a martini before dinner, that’s for sure.”
However, when travelling overseas, King Charles is said to drink his martini from his own personal glass, which he takes with him on his travels. The martini is believed to have first been created around 1860 and is a crisp, refreshing cocktail that famously requires just two ingredients — gin and the fortified wine, vermouth.
Camilla is said to enjoy a glass of wine (Image: Getty)
This timeless recipe is stirred with ice, strained and served straight up in a martini glass, garnished with an unstuffed Spanish olive. Swapping the gin for vodka transforms the drink into a vodka martini.
Adding a dash of olive brine creates a dirty martini, while combining gin and vodka and substituting dry vermouth with Lillet Blank produces 007’s favoured vesper martini.
It remains unclear precisely how King Charles takes his martini, though it is certainly not Queen Camilla’s preferred drink of choice.
Camilla serves as president of the UK Vineyards Association, so it comes as little surprise that she has a fondness for wine.
She shed light on her longstanding love of the grape: “People always ask me how I became involved in it all. Well, first of all I love wine but, secondly, my father was in the wine business, so I was brought up as a child drinking wine and water rather like the French.”
Prince William is said to enjoy the occasional pint. The future monarch was photographed at the Prince Albert pub in Battersea, London, sharing a beer with Frank Lampard during the summer of 2020.
He has also earned the nickname “cider man” after opting for a pint of Aspall Suffolk Draught Cyder over a traditional beer when offered the choice by a barman at the Rose and Crown pub in Snettisham, Norfolk.
Kate, Princess of Wales, is said to favour “a glass of white wine”, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl.
Prince Harry was known to enjoy a classic British beer during his years in the UK; he and Meghan were reportedly spotted together at the Rose and Crown pub in Berkshire in 2019, each nursing a pint.
Meghan, meanwhile, has a preference for wine, and even named her former lifestyle blog The Tig after Tignanello, an Italian blended red wine.
