Royal fans gobsmacked after only just learning King Charles incredible fact
Being the King comes with a whole lot of perks for King Charles, and some royal fans are only just realising the monarch has one major advantage when it comes to travelling.
Many people have probably never thought about it, but King Charles doesn't have a passport or drivers license and is still able to travel freely throughout the world without the all important documentation that the rest of us need.
The revelation was recently posted on Reddit 's 'Today I Learned (TIL)' forum, with the bemused social media user writing: 'TIL that as the reigning monarch of 14 countries, King Charles III is allowed to travel without a passport and drive without a license.'
While Charles is head of the Commonwealth, he is able to travel to countries outside of the Commonwealth without a passport, and has never had to endure passport control or immigration officers when jetting abroad as King.
His lack of documentation was reported by National Geographic, which said in a profile on the King when he was first crowned: 'As King, he's also the only person in the UK who can travel without a passport and drive without a licence.'
The British passport contains a message from King Charles inside, with a request to other nations to allow the holder to pass freely into their country.
As a Reddit commentator elaborated: 'As explained to me, the passport is the state saying 'This is who this person is'. In the UK, that state is formulated to express the will of the Royal, so it's the King saying 'This is who this person is'. In the case of King Charles, it'd be like writing down 'I am me' on a sheet of paper.'
The King's unique benefit is further explained on the royal family's website, which clarifies that the rule only applies to Charles, meaning Queen Camilla, Prince William and all other members of the Firm need passports to travel.
It says: 'When travelling overseas, the Sovereign does not require a British passport. As a British passport is issued in the name of His Majesty, it is unnecessary for The King to possess one. All other Members of the Royal Family, including The Queen and The Prince of Wales, have passports.
'The first page of British passports contains a representation of the Royal Arms, together with the following wording: 'His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of His Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary'.'
It then adds: 'In Realms (Commonwealth countries where The King is Sovereign), a similar formula is used, except that the request to all whom it may concern is made in the name of the Realm's Governor-General, as The King's representative in that Realm. In Canada, the request is made in the name of His Majesty by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.'
Within the Reddit comments on the post, many began to speculate on what other random perks come with being King, to which one person cheekily claimed: 'The monarch is also permitted to send letter mail within the UK without needing to affix a stamp. But that is more a matter of how awkward it is to lick the back of one's own head.'
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