King Charles and Queen Camilla split up at various points of their royal tour of Kenya, and it’s clear that Charles is much more active and he “travels better” than his wife. Camilla looks miserable – Charles merely looks tired but busy. At one point on Wednesday, Charles stopped by a food truck and he made a big deal about ordering some local dishes. It turns out that his staff had already arranged for the food to be milder than usual, because Prince Harry is apparently the only Windsor who can eat spicy (or even well-seasoned) food.
He is known for skipping lunch during busy royal tours but today the King stopped by a food truck during his state visit to Kenya. During a solo engagement, Charles sampled popular local food at Nairobi Street Kitchen. The King ordered a saag paneer kathi roll wrap and butter chicken samosa –and joked how the dishes could ‘blow your head off’.
Thankfully, sous chef Rhoda Asiyo said they had been told by the palace not to make the dishes ‘too spicy’ for the 74-year-old monarch.
She said afterwards: ‘The King was great, very chilled out. There were less formalities than I thought. I was nervous before knowing he would be eating our food. Indian food is very popular here in Kenya. The King ordered a favourite dish that flies off the shelves.’
Nairobi Street Kitchen, in the heart of the Westlands area, is a modern street food market experience with global food and drink offerings, and shops selling products made by artisans. It also hosts live bands and local art.
Charles stopped in his tracks as he was ushered to a menswear stall which has been a beneficiary of support from the British Council. Pointing at a sample of grey and blue checked material, the King exclaimed ‘Now this looks familiar’, which suggests that he had a suit of almost exactly the same design. Calling the products ‘marvellous’ and ‘so well designed’, Charles ordered his equerry to take details of the business to potentially make a personal order.
Sam Jairo, owner of Genteel custom made suits, said: ‘The King was very taken with one of our designs and in agreement that we are the perfect amalgamation of Kenyan flamboyance and British craftsmanship. I told the king it would be a pleasure to make him a suit and he seemed very interested.’
Earlier, King presented a medal to a Kenyan soldier said to be 117 years old. Veteran Corporal Samwel Nthigai Mburia, who claims to have been born in 1906 and may be the oldest man in the world, served in Palestine and the Far East with the British Army during World War Two. He was handed his replacement medal by Charles during a poignant ceremony on the second full day of the State visit to Kenya.
I did not know that Indian food was so popular in Kenya, but Indians were all over Africa too (and still are). As for the king ordering his food milder… I understand it, because he’s in the middle of a tour and he had a million other events to do. He didn’t want to be burping and farting for the rest of the day, or smelling of garlic and curry and what have you. As for the fashion and custom made suits… like, that’s authentically Charles. He cares about supporting artisans and local craftsmen. He loves all of that. I bet his people will truly contact Sam Jairo.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- King Charles III meets veteran Samwel Nthigai Mburia, who is believed to be 117 years old, during a visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Nairobi, joining British and Kenyan military personnel in an act of remembrance, on day two of the state visit to Kenya. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Nairobi, Kenya When: 01 Nov 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III during a visit to Karura urban forest in Nairobi to highlight the crucial role of green spaces and forests in sustainable cities, on day two of the state visit to Kenya. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Nairobi, Kenya When: 01 Nov 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III visits Desi Loco Indian Street Food stand and orders a saag paneer kathi roll and a butter chicken samosa during a visit to a Nairobi Street Kitchen to celebrate the Kenyan cultural and creative scene and meet young creatives including artisans, fashion designers, musicians and artists, on day two of the state visit to Kenya. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Nairobi, Kenya When: 01 Nov 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III during a visit to Nairobi Street Kitchen to celebrate the Kenyan cultural and creative scene and meet young creatives including artisans, fashion designers, musicians and artists, on day two of the state visit to Kenya. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Nairobi, Kenya When: 01 Nov 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
This piece is a better look than the Camilla stories. Should have left her home. Not that I want to give KC3 a win.
All I’m getting from this story is Charles’ staff was prepared for this trip and Camilla’s wasn’t.
LOL, they stopped at a stall (pre arranged stop) and pretended to order “off the cuff” some “local dish”, but it really turns out it was all pre arranged? LOL these fools.
And, I’m really very careful to not get into these kinds of discussions but, Indian food is NOT considered “local” in our lands. So, Prince Charles travelling to Kenya and ordering a foreign food passing it off as “local” is just crazy to me. I get it, (and ITA) Indian food is very popular in Africa, but Charles ordering a foreign food in Kenya and wanting to get brownie points for ordering a “local” food? LOL, no sir, at least not from me.
Taytanish I thought the same thing about the food. I didn’t know Indian food was so popular in Africa but why not find a local African food stall and order that? Again this tour isn’t setting well with me.
Indian food may not be local but it is certainly ubiquitous in Kenya.
In a colonized country foreign food becomes local. So Indian food in Kenya is part of the local cuisine.
So I looked up this particular street market and I’m not sure there was a local Kenyan food stall. There was a Mexican food stall, a place that seemed to have a variety (rigatoni, ponzu bowls), a place with ramen/gyoza, another with fried chicken wings, another with pizza, another with burgers.
That said, I do think a visit to a Nairobi restaurant that specializes in local Kenyan food would have been a good addition to this trip. One of the things that I think seems to emphasize the colonial aspect of these tours is that there isn’t a lot of focus on the modern country and culture. They spend a lot of time with animals but what is happening in Nairobi these days? Where are people eating, where are people shopping, what are the hot spots that aren’t animal sanctuaries, you know?
@Megan and @AmyBee I was watching a program about a fancy hotel in Cape Town recently and the hotel chef was talking about popular foods/flavours and explaining that the slaves brought from (IIRC) Sri Lanka and Malaysia mixed with the slaves brought from West Africa (again, IIRC) and this has informed a lot of what you get locally to this day.
@Amy Bee, no not really. We were colonized by white British, but we still kept some semblance of our cultural foods. Yes, our dishes might be influenced by some spices brought over by foreigners but that doesn’t mean foreigners’ food turns into “local” dishes. I would have loved for Charles and his entourage to order a “local” Kenyan dish, Kikuyu, Kamba, Masai, Luo, Luhya etc, any of those would be local dish. But Indian food is not local in Kenya however popular it is, that’s why its called “Indian”. And if they didn’t want to order local, that too is fine, different strokes for different folks. Just don’t start bleating about how “the king ordered a local dish” when he really didn’t.
I love to learn, so could you please give me an idea of what would be a local dish? And what would a local drink be
If your family has lived there for generations, and you’ve maintained your cultural foodways, how can your food not be considered ‘local’? The Indian diapora from then-British India to southeast Africa–specifically, to British colonies in Africa–occurred in the 19th century. Many Kenyans have Indian ancestors. Are they not considered Kenyans? Is their food not considered local?
Thank you @BeanieBean. I’m trying to understand how the generations of Indians being in Kenya/Africa is not considered local.
The true story is that Chuckie’s staff preordered. Not spontaneous. Fine. Chuck has years to work on spice temperature, one would think he had years to get it.
Dayum, eating more spicy food might help with his awful looking sausage fingers since a lot of those spicy foods have anti infllamatory elements.
Sure, Camilla doesn’t travel well but she also knows not to excel in anything her husband does. Then she can point out how brilliant he is at his job, whereas she can’t even ‘shop’ as well as he does.
She’s had his number from the jump.
she knew the bar was in hell when she married him.
Indian dishes are absolutely delicious but find the heat level can be unpredictable and would also be ordering it mild the first time from a new place. Sometimes their “mild” is 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️. No fault found here. It sounds like the businesses they chose to have him visit were charmed.
I’m sorry I have a hard time with this tour. Big deal he might buy a suit. I suppose that is better the just stealing it like his ancestors would do but still big deal. If he thinks buying things will make up for the behavior of the not so distant past he is mistaken. This tour just hits me wrong.
I agree with you Susan. But out of the two, Charles is doing a way better job than Camilla- and she doesn’t even hide it lol.
Let’s face it, Charles comes across as very charming at these types of events. It’s a mask, essentially. A mask he wears very well!
Sorry I don’t find this man charming.
@Tessa, we know lol 🤣🤣
Harry has the charm and charisma in that family. As does Meghan. What a mistake Charles made casting them aside.
@andy, I think a point you’re making is, Charles is doing a job and doing it well
@Mary, yup! Charles is a sh!tty a$$ father and person in general, but his image is very important to him so he puts on a “charm defensive”. There’s the natural genuine charm like Harry and Meghan and even Diana, and there’s fake like Charles.
I feel the same. They need to just stay in the UK (or maybe just England because I don’t even think the rest of the UK wants them either).
I’m with you on this. And don’t forget that there were no protests not because Kenyan’s love them. There were no protests because of the brutality, murder and all around crack down the Kenyan govt. subjects to its people if they dare, at all, go in the streets to protest anything, however peaceful that protest might be.
Charles looks like he knows what he’s doing. As for his interest in craftsmanship, earlier this year, his Prince’s Trust teamed up with Chanel on creating a course in embroidery for young designers.
That sounds like such a great idea. Whoever came up with it. If it was a staffer, it still reflects well on KC, because unlike his son it looks like he is able to hire some competent people. The bar is super low, and I can’t imagibe how it will be lowered any further for Peg.
I can’t say who came up with the idea, but several years ago the Paris fashion houses were scouring the earth, looking for people who still remembered how to do fine embroidery and other hand crafts – and the UK has a rich history of beautiful and complex embroidery, so it looks like a good match.
When KCIII appeared on the “Repair Shop Special” his enthusiasm for ensuring craft skills were not lost was very apparent. A fair proportion of the progamme was allocated to his skill workshops/ apprenticeships in Scotland. The programme has even used one of the former apprentices to fix something (sorry I’ve forgotten what it was now).
Have we ever heard about him wearing a suit not from his usual tailors? I believe this story about as much as I believe the story about Camzilla. She’ll be throwing away everything she bought at the market and he’ll be wearing his usual suits by his usual tailors.
If he really was interested, he would have had his staff scout things in advance and then had a suit made prior to the tour and then worn it on the tour to highlight the tailor’s craftsmanship.
My guess is same tailor all the time because his suits always look the same. Too short and wide pants, too long and baggy jacket.
Look, I give him a break on the spicy food. At our local Indian restaurant (which is excellent), even ordering something mild is still on the edge for me in terms of spiciness. One time we went and I finally broke down and ordered the butter chicken and that still had a kick, LOL. (the first time we went my husband ordered shrimp vindaloo spicy…..he had tears, haha.)
I honestly wish I liked spicy food more than I do but alas, I do not.
That said, again, this is the kind of thing that the royals should be doing. As a result of this article I’m looking up Nairobi Street Kitchen, looking at the menus, etc. I mean I’m not going to Nairobi anytime soon, but now I’m very hungry, lol. And maybe someone reading this IS going to Kenya soon and is going to pin this place to check out.
I dont know, he’s an awful human being, and he’s so tone deaf in some ways, but I do think he knows what he’s doing with appearances like this. Kate and William would have made some laughing “joke” to explain why they couldn’t’ eat the food…..a joke that no one would have found funny but them and that probably would have been insulting in the eyes of most. Here, Charles is praising the food, we have the name of the chef who made it, and he is spotlighting a local tailor.
If they’re going to insist on “royal tours” at least do something in them that highlights the local economy, food, vendors, etc.
My two dogs here in Canada have beautiful beaded collars, made by Masai craftspeople in Kenya. I got them from my neighbour, who is Indian from Kenya. The land and its people are everything to her. She wouldn’t take my money for the collars because the Masai wouldn’t! So next year I am sending with her bead supplies etc for them. Gorgeous people.
Thanks for the idea, I’m searching Masai beaded dog collars right now!
@ Harla make sure you buy them from a source that only benefits the Masai 🙂
@ Nick, that’s exactly what I’m doing 😃
Wouldn’t Charles and Camilla have had meetings together with their staff to plan this tour. It seems so uncoordinated.
Unrelated to Charles’ visit, but there is a fascinating short little documentary on YouTube all about what the royals eat/ate, and detailed all the things QE2 would and would not eat on royal tours–garlic being one of the frontrunners. It’s worth a watch.
I’m sorry, but ordering Indian food and looking at fabric doesn’t excuse the fact that he won’t apologize or pay reparations.
He can’t do that unless the UK government wants him to do it.
I mean, you know why Indian food is even in Africa in the first place? Because after the British “abolished” slavery they made up for it by using indentured slave labor from British India to work in their colonies instead, often lying to them about the terms of their service. It’s why there are so many Indian people in the Caribbean and the Pacific islands as well.
Exactly!
Why go to Kenya to eat indian food, and not Kenyan food. Plus England’s full of Indian food.
The Indian population has been in Kenya (also Uganda, Tanzania) for so long, that often Indian food is considered kind of local. It’s often Indian food with a Kenyan twist. I’m of Indo-Pakistani origin but my entire family was from either Kenya or Tanzania at least 3 generations back before they moved in the 70s and I can assure you the Indian food in Kenya is AMAZING. Every time I go to Nairobi it’s an absolute treat. And way better than the Indian food you get in the UK, which admittedly is very good. The ethnically Indian people there are Kenyans, have been born and raised there, etc.
Thanks so much for this insight.
WTF with the “claims to have been” in this sentence: “Veteran Corporal Samwel Nthigai Mburia, who claims to have been born in 1906.”
If the reporter couldn’t confirm it, the phrasing “is believed to have been born” would have worked. But the Daily Fail doesn’t miss an opportunity to undermine the credibility of Black people.
And Charles doesn’t get extra credit for merely not being embarrassing while executing duties for which he’s paid lavishly.
I noticed that, too. Such an insulting way to phrase that.
You can make a very good comparison between Charles and Camilla as they both look tired (and it is understandable as they are both in their 70s now) BUT at least Charles tries to look interested in what he’s being shown. I really thought Camilla was a better actress than that.
Perhaps Camilla reserves her thespian skills for more personal endeavors. Ahem.
That’s what I was trying to say but I couldn’t really find the words. She prefers working behind the scenes even if her character as the victim in Charles and Diana’s divorce as been going for decades now so we should give her that at least.
My sister raved about the Indian food in Kenya when she and her husband went on their delayed honeymoon. And as far as Indian food not being “local” cuisine, given that Indians have been there for over a hundred years (thanks to the Brits), I think they have the right to consider themselves locals even if they are not black. Also, I’m sure the Indian-Kenyan food there has incorporated many of the local ingredients as tend to happens.
Absolutely! Said as much above (I’m a bit late to the convo re: Indians in Kenya).
Can we please stop making excuses for Charles? Charles last wore a new suit years ago. Look at the suit he’s wearing in the photo. It’s ill-fitted and needs to be pressed. He’s visibly tired. That once loyal staff is diminished, his down-sized monarchy cannot carry the load.
Camilla is most comfortable within her tight-knit circle. She could be in pain, but not making the trip would draw too many speculations.
He wanted the spotlight, and here he is. An old, tired King with crooked teeth in a baggy suit with an old, tired wife.
Karma is so diverse.
My husband is Indian although he grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. We took the kids to Kenya this summer and we had some incredible Indian food in Nairobi. Even my husband was impressed. There are huge Indian communities in different parts of Africa. The community in Lagos was so big the Indian consulate operated a school there for Indian citizens.
Is he wearing a leg brace or sleeve under his pants? There’s a horizontal bulge around his thigh when he leans into the Veteran
Side note—I learned a bit about Indians in Kenya from Real housewives of NYC of all places. The new cast includes Jessel who related a story of her grandparents emigrating from India to Kenya. Of course she was interrupted because it’s a RH show but it was interesting and made me look up more.