King Charles offered a heartwarming and humorous perspective on aging during a recent royal engagement.
On Monday, June 9, the 76-year-old monarch visited Lancaster Castle for the Ceremony of the Keys, where he shared a light-hearted exchange with 101-year-old D-Day veteran Richard Brock.
According to The Daily Mail, the King recognized Brock from a previous meeting in Normandy last year and was visibly impressed by how well the centenarian was doing. After learning his age, Charles told him, “You are fantastic,” and added with a smile, “Keep drinking the whiskey.”
Brock’s son, Tony, shared, “He mentioned a nip of whiskey and said to keep taking it,” as quoted by The Daily Mail.
The visit comes as King Charles continues treatment for a form of cancer, a diagnosis made public last year.
Despite the ongoing health issue, the King has remained active with public appearances and is set to lead the royal family during the upcoming Trooping the Colour on June 14.
In a similarly candid moment earlier this year, the King visited Villa Wolkonsky in Rome, where he planted an oak tree and remarked with a grin, “Well I do hope that I shall live long enough to see a little bit of growth in the tree.”
This visit marked Charles’s first official appearance at Lancaster Castle as monarch. As Duke of Lancaster, he took part in the Ceremony of the Keys — a historic tradition that dates back to 1851 during Queen Victoria’s reign. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last took part in the event in 2015.
While at the castle, the King met with a range of local artisans and business owners. Among them was Gillian Hale of Butlers’ Farmhouse Cheeses, who showcased her products to the King. Though he didn’t sample the cheeses, he did enjoy their aroma and told Hale he especially loves sheep’s cheese, particularly when paired with a digestive biscuit.
“We’re going to send some to him later in a goody bag,” Hale said. “He was so gracious.”
Later, at a reception following the ceremony, the King greeted representatives from organizations such as St. John’s Hospice, the Lancaster Literature Festival, and Escape 2 Make — a group that offers creative workshops for young people.
Charles’s fondness for whiskey is well known. In fact, he launched a special edition of his Highgrove Royal Gardens whiskey in November 2023 to mark his 75th birthday.
More recently, during a March visit to Northern Ireland with Queen Camilla, the royal couple took part in a whiskey tasting at a local bar. In a video shared on X by royal reporter Rebecca English, the King and Queen were seen clinking glasses and taking a shot — both pausing afterward in silence, much to the amusement of the crowd around them.