The hobby King Charles has taken up again for the first time since his accession revealed
The King has many favourite pursuits, including gardening, fishing and polo, but he's recently reignited a passion for one of his talents.
Charles, 76, has been honing his artistic skills since he was a child, and is an accomplished watercolour painter.
The King has had very little downtime since his accession to the throne in September 2022, but he picked up his paintbrushes once again earlier this summer.
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Reflecting on the monarch's year, in which he has been receiving cancer treatment since February, The Times reports: "Not everything is possible with the King's treatment. His two favourite annual holidays — visiting Romania and going skiing — were both out of the question. But there have been some unexpected benefits to the enforced downtime that his illness necessitates.
"This summer, he took up painting again for the first time since his accession. While Camilla was on holiday with her family abroad, the King spent a week at the Castle of Mey in Caithness where he sat in front of his easel to capture the scenery with his paint brushes laid out before him."
Charles has previously described how he finds painting so relaxing that it "transports me into another dimension".
His interest – fostered by his art master at Gordonstoun school, Robert Waddell – grew in the 1970s and 1980s as he was able to meet leading artists.
He discussed watercolour technique with the late Edward Seago and received further tuition from professionals such as Derek Hill, John Ward and Bryan Organ.
An exhibition at Hampton Court Palace in 1998, held to mark the then Prince's 50th birthday, displayed 50 of his watercolours, while the National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition in 2018 to celebrate his 70th birthday showed 30 pieces.
In 2022, 79 of Charles's watercolours – the first full exhibition of his work in the medium – were exhibited at the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea.
His paintings also went on display at Sandringham House last year.
The King isn't the only royal with an interest in art – he also shares the hobby with his daughter-in-law the Princess of Wales, his niece Princess Eugenie, and his cousins, Lady Sarah Chatto and the 2nd Earl of Snowdon.
Kate studied History of Art at the University of St Andrews and is an avid photographer, while Eugenie is a director at art gallery, Hauser & Wirth.
Lady Sarah Chatto has been exhibiting her artwork since the early 1990s while her brother, David Armstrong-Jones, is a furniture maker.
