King Charles Says He Never Got to Go to Butlin's as a Child
King Charles has said that one of his biggest childhood regrets is that he never went on a holiday at Butlin's. The remarks were reported by Hello! Magazine on 15 November 2026.
Butlin's is a British holiday camp company, known for seaside breaks with accommodation, meals and entertainment all in one place. The King said that he and his sister, Princess Anne, repeatedly asked their parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, whether they could go. The Queen said no. In the words reported, she said: "I don't quite think we will be able to manage that."
The family did not entirely keep away from the company. The Queen and Prince Philip visited the Butlin's camp in Pwllheli, in north Wales, in 1963. Charles and Anne did not go with them.
Butlin's today runs three coastal resorts, in Bognor Regis, Skegness and Minehead. Its camps have been a fixture of British seaside holidays for generations, and many families have a holiday memory tied to one of them.
The company has now invited the King and his family to visit one of its resorts. The invitation is intended to help make his childhood wish come true.
For many readers, the story is a small, human one. A future king wanted the same simple summer break as thousands of other children, and his parents said no. It is a reminder that royal childhoods followed their own rules, even when the holiday in question was a well-known British bucket-and-spade favourite.
