British monarch King Charles might not need to travel with a passport – but he does take along a very unusual item when he heads abroad, along with a royal doctor
Whenever King Charles travels, he takes with him a very unusual item – on his doctor’s orders.
As monarch, Charles will often fly abroad for official engagements and tours. Later this month, he and Queen Camilla are scheduled to make the long journey to Australia and Samoa. And alongside his personal items, the King will travel with a surprising addition – a supply of blood. He is also always accompanied by a doctor. In 2016, the Telegraph’s Gordon Rayner reported the late Queen would also travel alongside a Royal Navy doctor, who would research information about local hospitals, whenever she went on a world tour.
“In countries where a reliable blood supply is questionable, the Queen and the Prince of Wales both travel with their own personal packs of blood following in their convoy wherever they go,” he added. “Their doctor is never more than a few paces away, carrying a bulky medical bag containing a mobile defibrillator and all manner of emergency medicine.”
While the King’s travel list is extensive, there is one thing he doesn’t have to worry about packing – and that’s his passport. According to the royal family’s website , which has yet to be updated in full following the death of Queen Elizabeth, the British monarch does not need a passport for a simple reason – the documents are issued in their name.
“When travelling overseas, The Queen does not require a British passport,” it explains. “As a British passport is issued in the name of Her Majesty, it is unnecessary for The Queen to possess one. All other members of the Royal Family, including The Duke of Edinburgh [then Prince Philip ] and The Prince of Wales [then Prince Charles], have passports.”
It means that although Queen Elizabeth II travelled over one million miles and visited over 100 countries during her record-breaking reign, she never brought along the identification document. In 2023, the first passports bearing King Charles’s name were issued following the death of his mother in September 2022. Home Secretary Suella Braverman commented on the significance of the change in a statement confirming the news.
“For 70 years, Her Majesty has appeared on British passports and many of us will not remember a time when she did not feature. Today marks a significant moment in U.K. history, as the first British passports since 1952 start featuring the title of His Majesty the King,” Braverman said.
The new navy passports are stamped with the Royal Arms just as before, but language on the first page has been tweaked from ‘Her Majesty’ to ‘His Majesty’. “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 states.
