Where Kings Walk and Servants Tiptoe: The Fascinating and Unbelievable Hygiene Rules of the Royal Family

“Think you know royal life? These strange bathroom rules might surprise you” 🛁👑 From 18 centimeters of bathwater to hand-squeezed toothpaste, the royal family’s old traditions are still alive—and some are downright unbelievable. Curious what goes on behind palace doors? Full story and rare details in the article below 👇

The British royal family has a lot of old traditions they still follow today. Some of them go all the way back to Queen Elizabeth II’s time—and they might surprise you.

A Very Unexpected Photo… Notice the Bar Soap!

1. Bathing Traditions
Members of the royal family always take baths—never showers. Showers are considered something for busy people rushing to work, and that’s not how the royals live. They take their time with long, daily baths.

Queen Elizabeth II had a bath every morning, no matter where she was. At 7:30 a.m., her maid would start preparing the bath while the Queen sipped her tea. The water was carefully filled to exactly 18 centimeters. The temperature was checked twice to make sure it was just right before the Queen would step in. She stayed in the bath until 8:30, then got ready for breakfast.

To be honest, it’s hard to imagine only 18 centimeters of water being enough! Maybe it was measured differently?

King Charles has always had a lot of special requests about his baths too. The bathtub plug had to be placed a certain way, and the water had to be exactly 36.6 degrees Celsius.

And when he brushes his teeth—yes, he does it himself—his valet must squeeze exactly 1 centimeter of toothpaste onto the toothbrush for him.

The king also has two specially trained helpers who dress him every day, making sure he looks flawless. Plus, all his clothes are washed by hand—never in a machine.

2. Bathroom Etiquette
If a royal guest needs to leave the table to visit the restroom during a formal event, they have to excuse themselves quietly and discreetly. If they were eating, they must place their cutlery in a special way to signal whether they’re coming back to finish or if the plate can be cleared.

Interestingly, the royal family avoids using the word “toilet”—it’s considered too blunt. Instead, they use more polite alternatives.

Other words like “living room,” “sofa,” and even “perfume” are also avoided, replaced with more traditional terms. This custom dates back at least to Elizabeth II’s reign and continues today.

King Charles has always had particular demands for his bathroom setup. His requirements include velvet-soft toilet paper and a special toilet seat—which he takes with him wherever he goes!

Reading materials are not allowed in royal restrooms. And you won’t find air fresheners there either—apparently, the royal spaces are expected to naturally smell wonderful.

There’s always a neat stack of hand towels ready, with only bar soap used for washing hands. Hand cream is provided too.

3. Cleaning the Royal Way
In royal residences, servants are not allowed to use vacuum cleaners because their noise might bother the royal family. Instead, all cleaning—whether it’s the endless carpets or sparkling bathrooms—is done quietly by hand, using brooms and cloths.

Servants must be invisible when not working but ready to help at a moment’s notice. The standards are very high, but the pay matches the hard work.

Thank you for reading all the way through! If you found these royal habits interesting, leave a comment below — I’d love to hear your thoughts!