During a touching moment at Lancaster Castle’s historic Ceremony of the Keys, King Charles surprised a 101-year-old D-Day veteran with a cheeky piece of life advice: “Keep drinking the whiskey.” The monarch, currently undergoing cancer treatment, showed his signature humor and warmth as he reunited with veteran Richard Brock, whom he had previously met in Normandy.
The June 9 appearance marked King Charles’ first official visit to the castle as monarch — a tradition dating back to Queen Victoria in 1851. Despite health challenges, the 76-year-old King continues to fulfill public duties, engaging with local artisans, charities, and community members. He even took time to admire regional cheeses and discuss his fondness for sheep’s cheese with digestive biscuits.
The moment between the King and the centenarian highlighted not only Charles’ enduring charm but also his ability to connect across generations, even amid personal trials. His spirited advice adds to a growing list of candid royal quips — and confirms his well-known appreciation for a good dram.
The monarch offered a spirited take on aging during a royal visit
NEED TO KNOW
- King Charles attended the Ceremony of the Keys at Lancaster Castle, where he gave a 101-year-old veteran some unexpected advice
- The outing comes amid the monarch’s ongoing cancer treatment
- Queen Elizabeth also took part in the Ceremony of the Keys in 2015, and the event dates back to 1851, when it began with Queen Victoria
King Charles shared a sweet moment with a 101-year-old centenarian during his latest outing.
The royal, 76, attended the Ceremony of the Keys at Lancaster Castle on Monday, June 9, where he greeted visitors and dropped a bit of advice while chatting with a D-Day veteran.
The King previously met Richard Brock while visiting Normandy last year, and when he saw him again on Monday, he noted how good 101-year-old Brock looked, The Daily Mail reports.
The King told Brock, “You are fantastic,” after asking his age, then quipped, “Keep drinking the whiskey.”
Brock’s son Tony said, “He mentioned a nip of whiskey and said to keep taking it,” per The Daily Mail.
The outing comes as King Charles continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, a diagnosis that was shared with the public last year. Despite the health challenge, the King has kept a steady pace of in-person engagements and will lead the royal family at Trooping the Colour on June 14.
In April, the King shared another candid — and humorous — moment while visiting Italy. After planting an oak tree at Villa Wolkonsky in Rome, he joked, “Well I do hope that I shall live long enough to see a little bit of growth in the tree.”
After arriving at Lancaster Castle for his first official visit as monarch, the King — who is also the Duke of Lancaster — participated in a Ceremony of Keys, during which he was given the keys to the castle.
The tradition first began in 1851 with Queen Victoria. The King’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth, also participated in the ceremony in 2015.
Inside the grounds of Lancaster Castle, the King met with local business owners who sell cheese, wool yarns and furniture, and spoke with them about their products, including Gillian Hale of Butlers’ Farmhouse Cheeses.
The Daily Mail reports that the King smelled some of Hale’s cheeses but did not taste them. He did, however, tell her that he especially loves sheep’s cheese, which he prefers to eat with a digestive biscuit.
Hale said she planned to pass some of her products along to the King after the Lancaster Castle event.
“We’re going to send some to him later in a goody bag,” she said. “He was so gracious.”
At a reception after the ceremony, the King met with members of St. John’s Hospice, staff from the Lancaster Literature Festival and employees from the organization Escape 2 Make, which hosts creative workshops for young people.
It’s no secret that the King enjoys his whiskey — he even has his own line. King Charles released a special version of his Highgrove Royal Gardens whiskey in honor of his 75th birthday in November 2023.
He also recently took a trip to Northern Ireland with Queen Camilla, where the pair took shots of whiskey at a bar while taking part in a tasting in March. In a video from the visit shared to X by royal reporter Rebecca English, the King and Queen toasted before knocking back the whiskey. They both fell silent after the shot, which earned plenty of laughter from onlookers at the bar.
