King Charles III's elaborate daily schedule is only going to get busier after becoming the UK's new monarch. He is expected to get into a fresh routine with his newfound duty of serving the country as head of state, but as Prince of Wales, it was apparent he liked things a certain way.
According to his former press secretary, King Charles would skip lunch, and instead be fueled by a healthy breakfast of seeds and fruit. The new king is known for enjoying the finer things in life and can be fussy about all manner of things - from having his shoelaces ironed to extra requests on how he likes to have his bath water.
And it appears the same applies to the most important meal of the day. Detailing His Majesty's 'relentless schedule', former press secretary Julian Payne said he never saw a single boiled egg at breakfast time in all the years he served the prince, while a former royal household chef has said Charles would take his special 'breakfast boxes' wherever he went.
For the latest updates as the world mourns the Queen and King Charles III's reign begins, follow our live blog.
Mr Payne said: "The King doesn’t eat lunch; so, an early lesson I learnt when out on the road with him was to have a big breakfast or bring a few snack bars with you to keep you going.
"The working day is pretty relentless. Beginning with the radio news headlines and a breakfast of seasonal fruit salad and seeds with tea."
According to My London, anywhere he goes in the world, King Charles is always accompanied by his trusty breakfast box.
Being well-known for his love of organic farming and plant-based eating, the King reportedly starts his day off with a light combination full of vitamins and fibre rather than a cooked English breakfast.
Chef Graham Newbould, a former member of the royal staff, said: "Prince Charles has a healthier option. He'd have homemade bread, a bowl of fresh fruit, fresh fruit juices.
"Wherever the Prince goes in the world, the breakfast box goes with him. He has six different types of honey, some special mueslis, his dried fruit and anything that's a bit special that he is a bit fussy about."
Another specific breakfast request was revealed by former royal chef Darren McGrady. He explained that Charles likes to ensure the royal pantry is well stocked with "his own produce".
"The instruction was to put two plums and a little juice into the bowl and send it into him for breakfast," he said.
"I'd send in two plums and he would take one so it would come back out after breakfast and I'd put the other plum back into the jar and save it.
"One morning I thought, 'ok, he only eats one for breakfast,' so I only put one plum into the bowl and sent it out into the dining room.
"The attending [waiter] came through and said, 'can His Royal Highness have two please?' So I had to keep sending two in every morning."
Julian Payn said the former prince's schedule involved back-to-back 45-minute sessions on his charity's next project, a forthcoming tour or a discussion with Sir Clive Alderton, his principal private secretary, about matters of state.
He had a break from his 'relentless schedule' at about 1pm, but "not to eat but to get outside to walk."
The King dislikes being inside for too long and "always has the windows wide open," Mr Payne said.
The first real pause in the day will be at 5pm, when the King will stop for tea and a chance for him to recharge, often with the Queen Consort, over sandwiches and a piece of fruit cake.
Then it's back to his desk to tackle the mountain of paperwork that, despite the best efforts of his PAs, never seemed to get any smaller.
Dinner is at 8.30pm sharp and then at 10pm he heads back to his desk, usually until well past midnight.
Mr Payne said the King's habit for late nights is also true of public engagements, where his gregarious approach and willingness to chat to lots of people means these often go on for hours on end.
