King Charles Is Apparently Not Easy To Please When It Comes To Boiled Eggs

It's not easy being king, but is it any easier to cook eggs for one? If the report from British journalist Jeremy Paxman's book "On Royalty" is to be believed, the answer may be no. According to MyLondon, the tome reveals that King Charles III of England enjoys a soft-boiled egg for breakfast, which sounds completely normal. Less relatable, however, is that he demands seven eggs to be boiled to varying degrees and presented to him so he can test each, find the egg prepared exactly to his standards, and eliminate the rest. One egg to rule them all.

The winner? Coddled eggs. These are a specific form of the classic soft-boiled egg that are placed into a small dish as the whole thing is cooked in a bath of hot water. This process is often done in the oven and results in a perfectly runny egg that still remains whole when cracked into. That ideal balance could understandably be a little tough to nail, but for the pros cooking for a king, it seems surprising they'd need seven attempts each morning. Plus, one of King Charles' biggest platforms is sustainability — ordering seven eggs to only eat one each day feels uncharacteristically wasteful.

Maybe that's why Buckingham Palace staff has publicly denied this breakfast reveal. But it's tough to know if they can be believed. Per MyLondon, the king's former private chef has publicly stated Charles' eggs were to be boiled for exactly four minutes, and to ensure his precise standards were met, the chef kept three pots boiling at once during breakfast prep.

Dig a little deeper into the rumors around this frankly diva-like behavior and you'll find more conflicting reports. While Paxman's book claims the request was seven eggs for breakfast, Hello! Magazine notes that another book, "Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants" by Tom Quinn, reports that it was six eggs for afternoon tea. This assertion, too, has been denied by representatives of Buckingham Palace.

The gossip stems from somewhere, though. The king may or may not demand six or seven eggs at some point in the day, but at the very least we know he's so picky about his eggs that it's become a topic of international discussion. 

It would also appear King Charles has been shifting his breakfast habits altogether as he's grown older and also to accommodate his busy schedule. Among the things the monarch likes to eat are breakfast favorites including not just those eggs (which must be organic), but cereal and fresh fruit, too. Among King Charles' more unusual eating habits are what his family jokingly calls "birdseed" — he likes muesli with his cereal and fruit. In fact, he's so devoted to this healthy routine — but also, again, demanding regarding every item's quality — that palace staff pack King Charles "breakfast boxes" of these staples when he travels.