Queen Camilla's romantic birthday surprise that King Charles did “against his better judgement” is something he once revealed.
When it comes to birthdays the Royal Family often take to social media to share special messages and pictures in tribute to these special days. However, exactly how they mark these occasions with each other largely remains a mystery outside of a few insights shared over the years. It’s because of this that many fans might not know about Queen Camilla’s romantic birthday surprise King Charles.
The monarch revealed during an appearance on Radio 3’s Private Passions in 2018 how he went all out for his wife’s 60th birthday. Getting candid, King Charles explained how he’d been “persuaded” to take part in a performance of an iconic piece of Richard Wagner’s music.
As per The Telegraph, the King shared a whole host of musical moments that have shaped his life during his time on Private Passions, describing these pieces of music as “vital” to “surviving the daily round”. He shared that the Philharmonia Orchestra - which he is patron of - “persuaded” him to join them in performing Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll as a “surprise” for Queen Camilla.
“Entirely at the suggestion of the Philharmonia, of which I’ve been a very proud patron for nearly 40 years,” he said, explaining that he’d conducted after being convinced by conductor and lead violinist Christopher Warren Green.
King Charles declared, “They are a remarkable orchestra. He was terribly keen I should conduct it. I said, ‘You must be out of your mind.’ Finally he persuaded me against my better judgement and we did it as a special surprise.”
In response to being asked whether the orchestra had finished the piece all together with him conducting them, King Charles laughed and praised them for being “polite”
“Well roughly, yes,” he said, adding, “The orchestra were terribly polite. I do love it. There’s something very romantic about it.”
Given how grand a gesture this was and how hard King Charles appeared to have worked to conduct the orchestra, it’s likely Queen Camilla very much appreciated it. He also perhaps set the bar very high from then on for her birthday celebrations and this sounds like a moment Her Majesty will never forget.
When it comes to his own birthdays, King Charles has regularly focused on work and for his 75th birthday on 14th November, His Majesty launched the Coronation Food Project which will tackle the issue of food waste and help the increasing number of people unable to afford food.
He also hosted a Buckingham Palace reception in tribute to nurses and midwives working in the UK to mark 75 years of the National Health Service.
On his 65th birthday during a visit to India, Queen Camilla revealed, as per the Daily Mail, that he’s often in the work “zone” and “always” has to get something finished, “no matter” the day.
She also shared that he’s “the most difficult person in the world to buy a present for” and that they’ve come up with a solution to this.
“So he likes to make a list of things that he wants so you get it exactly right,” she declared. “I find this time of year impossible as it’s his birthday and then it’s Christmas, so you have got two in a row. Everybody else is easy but he is not.’
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