The Daily Beast’s Royalist column has an exclusive update on King Charles. Charles has been in Scotland for much of August, first at Castle Mey and currently at Balmoral. Or rather, Birkhall. Birkhall is Charles’s semi-private home within the larger Balmoral estate. Birkhall once belonged to the Queen Mum (Charles’s grandmother), and when she passed, it was given to Charles. He did the same thing last year, he stayed at Birkhall while the rest of the family stayed at the big house, Balmoral Castle. Even now that he’s king, Charles prefers the “smaller” and more comfortable homes he had/used as Prince of Wales. According to Royalist, Charles is mostly avoiding his family too. LOL.

Time at Birkhall: King Charles is spending most of his time on holiday in Scotland at his own home, Birkhall, and is not sleeping at Balmoral Castle with the rest of the vacationing royal family, the Daily Beast understands. The cancer-hit king is spending his days at his Scottish baronial-style manor with Queen Camilla by his side, recharging his batteries by painting and tending to his beloved gardens, a source told The Daily Beast.

The king sleeps a lot: The source said: “The king is sleeping a lot. He is not one to sit around doing nothing, so relaxing for him takes the form of reading, writing, painting, and gardening. He has always loved throwing on his wellies and getting out in the garden, that’s his happy place.” The source said they were unsure of what specific treatments Charles is receiving for his cancer while in Scotland, but said they understood the king had treatment when he was in London last week.

The others are staying at the big house: It is perhaps no surprise that although the king participated in a traditional formal welcome to Balmoral Castle last week, he has continued to base himself at Birkhall, while other royals, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, have been made welcome at “the big house,” as the castle is commonly known.

He’s not going on outdoor adventures: The king is not participating in lengthy days of shooting and fishing with his family, as he usually would, and as the late Queen Elizabeth always did, the source said, instead joining shooting parties briefly, if at all. The other royals have been out shooting grouse, a prized wild game bird which lives on the type of Scottish moorland which surrounds the castle, but the shooting has been “disappointing” across all of Scotland this year, with breeding affected by unusual weather patterns. Balmoral is no exception, another source said. “We have all been hit for six this year, including at Balmoral,” the shooting source said, “Balmoral has wonderful gamekeepers, but there is only so much you can do when you’re getting driving rain and snow in May. All the shoots have been very quiet. That won’t stop the royals going out and having a good walk and lunch in the hut of course, but it does rather take the shine off things when there are no birds.”

His decision to fly to Southport to visit with the community: Charles’ decision to interrupt his vacation to go to Southport was an important and appropriate act in recognition of the seriousness of what occurred there. However, some insiders last week told the Daily Beast that they fear the king’s determination to maintain a hectic schedule of events despite still having cancer risks derailing his recovery. One insider has now reiterated that fear to The Daily Beast, saying, “I actually think William could have deputized for Charles at Southport. I have tremendous admiration for the incredibly brave way Charles has conducted himself over the past six months but he is not well, it is plainly apparent just from looking at him, and things can go wrong very fast with cancer.”

Concerns about his October trip: Insiders urging caution over his packed schedule are increasingly nervous about a grueling overseas tour to Australia and Samoa planned for October. The Daily Beast’s source said, “He is the king and everyone understands he wants to get on and do the job. His bravery and courage in the face of what he is facing is amazing. But plenty of people would prefer it if he wasn’t going.”

[From The Daily Beast]

It sounds like these “sources” mostly wanted to complain about the grouse hunting. As for Charles spending the bulk of his time at Birkhall and the fact that he’s sleeping a lot… it is his vacation. I’m not defending the work-shy royals, but Charles is a 75-year-old man with cancer. He should be puttering around the garden and napping, so I’m glad that’s what he’s doing. The larger issue is this: “I actually think William could have deputized for Charles at Southport.” First of all, no, Charles was the one who needed to visit the community and speak to those people, just as his mother would have done. Second of all, Charles cannot get William to do a damn thing, much less deputize William to make sensitive visits to families who lost children. And that’s the bigger problem, isn’t it? Charles can’t trust or deputize lazy-ass William to do a damn thing.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.