Prince Charles, avid environmentalist and future heir to the throne, is simply nuts about squirrels, his son Prince William revealed.
“He is completely infatuated by the red squirrels that live around the [Birkhall] estate in Scotland — to the extent that he’s given them names and is allowing them into the house!” William said of his father in a new interview with the U.K. magazine, Country Living, guest-edited by the Prince of Wales.
Charles spoke of his squirrel “infatuation,” in another article in the magazine, calling them “incredibly special creatures.”
“They come into the house at Birkhall and we get them chasing each other round and round inside,” he said. “If I sit there quietly, they will do so around me.”
Charles, whose 70th birthday is Wednesday, added: “Sometimes, when I leave my jackets on a chair with nuts in the pockets, I see them with their tails sticking out, as they hunt for nuts — they are incredibly special creatures.”
Charles also is pretty thrilled by turkeys the royal family keeps on the estate.
“I love these turkeys, they make me laugh so much,” Charles said, giggling, during a clip from a BBC One documentary marking his 70th birthday.
“Gobble, gobble gobble” he said, mimicking the turkeys’ noises before breaking into a fit of laughter. “So funny.”
To help celebrate the prince’s birthday milestone, Clarence House released two new portraits of Prince Charles and his family on Wednesday.
The sweet photos show the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children (including a smiling Prince Louis!), and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, gathered around Charles.
“It was particularly special to capture such an informal and relaxed family portrait over a fun afternoon in the gardens of Clarence House,” Getty photographer Chris Jackson said of the shots.
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