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King Charles and Queen Camilla were all too happy to be put to work during a joint royal outing.
On Feb. 26, the King, 76, and Queen, 77, spent the day visiting local Muslim communities in London ahead of Ramadan, which begins on Friday, Feb. 28.
Their outing included a stop at Darjeeling Express, an Indian restaurant founded by famed chef Asma Khan. The royal couple sat down with Khan to help pack dates to be sent to local hospitals, as the dried fruit is traditionally eaten to break the Ramadan fast at sunset each day.
King Charles excelled at the task, and he even got the giggles when Khan praised his date-packing abilities.
“I didn’t realize the King would be so fast!” she marveled in a video posted to the royal family’s official Instagram, prompting a big laugh from the monarch. “You are packing dates faster than I can seal them.”
Khan added, “I never realized this is a speedy couple,” bringing about another chuckle from those gathered.
Later, the royal couple joined Khan and her head chef, Asha Pradhan, in the kitchen, where they dished out boxes of biryani to be donated to Doorstep, an organization that helps families in the process of finding permanent housing.
In another hilarious moment, King Charles got distracted while visiting with other guests, prompting Camilla to call for him to get back to the task at hand.
“I think my husband is supposed to be doing this,” she said with a laugh in a video posted by Hello! magazine. “Gentlemen, we are waiting!”
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The King then met with members of London’s Syrian community at Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. He was introduced to owner Imad Eddin al Arnab, his wife Batool and their daughters: Dana, Lana and Mariam.
Also joining the group were BAFTA-winning filmmaker Waad Jarkas and her medic husband, Hamza Al-Kateab. They made their award-winning film For Sama about the destruction of the Syrian Civil War and dedicated it to their daughter, who was an infant at the time.
The war touched the lives of everyone at the table, including al Arnab, who lost his three restaurants in Damascus and came to the U.K. as a refugee in 2015 with just $15 in his pocket.
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King Charles meets Imad Eddin Al Arnab, founder of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, in London on Feb. 26, 2025.
Eddie Mulholland – WPA Pool/Getty
King Charles expressed his sympathies as he spoke with the group, and afterward, Hello! reported that al Arnab was left “speechless” at the visit.
“The King knows so much about Syrian cuisine and Syrian culture, Islam and Syrian history. It’s amazing that he cares,” he shared. “This kind of support from His Majesty showed us how much we mean as human beings, we didn’t have such a thing from our previous president.”
“We have high hopes for our new government and for me, as a British Syrian, I hope that these two peoples come together and create a better future,” he added.
