Prince Charles Writes 2,400 Letters a Year — Many to Members of the Public
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Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images Prince Charles
Prince Charles has been called a workaholic by his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. And he's been known to be at his desk until well into the night — so much so that Prince Harry once joked that his father would wake up with paper stuck to his face!
Now, the reason why is becoming clearer. At a briefing Wednesday for the annual royal financial report, it was revealed that Charles, 73, is a prolific letter-writer, penning more than 2,400 a year — almost seven a day.
Many are written directly to members of the public. Charles reportedly receives tens of thousands of missives a year — and he sees a large selection of letters that are written personally to him by U.K. citizens.
A royal source says it was "touching" how letters from the public might catch the prince's eye because of "what they were saying or the kind of issues they were raising."
"Very often when members of the public write to him they may be surprised to see on their doormat a personal letter to them from the heir to the throne," the source adds.
"It is all about listening. He says we only learn when we listen and when members of the public write to him, that is a form of active listening. He really does take the thoughts and comments on board and learns from them," the source says.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth
A lot of his replies are also part of his official state business, such as thank yous to the President of Rwanda, who hosted Charles and Camilla earlier this month.
Details of Charles and Camilla's visit earlier this month with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their two children were also revealed during the palace briefing on Wednesday.
A source says it was "wonderful" for Charles and Camilla to spend time with the family.
Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
"It was a fantastic visit. The prince was delighted to see his grandson and meet his granddaughter for the first time," the royal source says.
"The Prince and the Duchess [of Cornwall] were absolutely thrilled to see them," the source continues, as Charles had not seen his grandson Archie "for a bit of time."
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"It was very special to have some time with him. He hadn't met Lilibet, his granddaughter, and so to meet her for the first time was very emotional — it was a wonderful thing," the source says.
