Meghan Markle does calligraphy, Queen Elizabeth collects stamps and Kate Middleton loves adult colouring books – the everyday hobbies of the British royal family
From the queen’s quaint old pastime of collecting stamps to Prince Charles curious magic tricks to Kate’s more voguish adult colouring books – do you share hobbies with a member of the royal family?
The British royal family may be terribly busy people, but that’s all the more reason to have earned some serious downtime. And it’s not all about the highbrow and luxurious for these relaxing royals, either – more often than you might imagine, they’re happy to pick up more mundane, and affordable, hobbies like doing magic and gardening.
Here are five favourite pastimes of the British monarchy – how many of them do you have in common?
Prince Charles – magic
Don’t tell the Muggles, but Prince Charles could secretly be a wizard as he’s quite fond of all things to do with magic. In 1975, the Prince of Wales became a member of the Magic Circle, a London society of magicians, after passing an audition. Decades later, we can imagine the 71-year-old continuing to pull off a couple of conjuring tricks for his lovely grandchildren.
Kate Middleton – adult colouring books
Adult colouring books recently emerged as a popular form of stress relief, and Kate Middleton is among the many harried adults who appreciate them. Prince William revealed in 2016 that the Duchess of Cambridge fills her spare time colouring the Secret Garden by Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, who incidentally received an OBE for services to art and entrepreneurship.
“Prince William actually said that his wife likes to colour in the Secret Garden, which was really sweet,” Basford told The Telegraph after receiving the award. The Duchess also gets involved with art workshops for children across the globe.