How to smell like King Charles: the fragrances loved by royalty

At 74 years old, the newly crowned King Charles is late to the British throne and to the fragrance game. The queen of pop Britney Spears has lent her name to more than 30 fragrances, sporting king Cristiano Ronaldo has five and former US President Donald Trump has three, including the modestly named Empire.

Diversifying his product portfolio beyond biscuits and organic gin, the King’s first attempt to invade polished marble bathrooms, Highgrove Bouquet, was created with British perfumers Penhaligon’s and launches in Australia this month.

King Charles III and Penhaligon’s ‘Highgrove Bouquet’, ($320, 100ml). The fragrance is a collaboration between the English perfumery and the monarch, with a portion of sales going to The Prince’s Trust.Credit: Getty, Supplied

It was Charles’s idea for perfumer Julie Pluchet to capture the scent of the Tilia Petiolaris, or weeping silver lime tree, which grows at his country home, to help raise money for the Prince’s Trust. The result is a garden fresh unisex fragrance, evoking the King’s love of nature and Highgrove House, which will be sold at David Jones stores.

“From the start, it was clear that this fragrance was going to be elegant and classic, focusing on the beloved weeping silver lime that blooms for a few months every year at Highgrove,” says Pluchet. “Weeping silver lime is a new discovery for me, and I don’t know that it’s been used in any other fragrances – it has wonderful green, floral, powdery and animal facets.”

The Georgian neoclassical Highgrove House was purchased by King Charles in 1980 and was the childhood retreat for Prince William and Prince Harry, but his first wife Princess Diana was less enthusiastic about the property.

.Credit: Illustration by Matt Golding

“Highgrove would become the base for everything [Diana] most disliked: horses, Camilla, and ‘heavy furniture’ neighbours,” Tina Brown wrote in The Diana Chronicles.

Fragrances dabbed on royal wrists are more difficult to identify than Princess Catherine’s Jenny Packham gowns and Queen Camilla’s Van Cleef & Arpels Magic Alhambra earrings, so it is difficult to know if the King wears the light floral fragrance with notes of mimosa and cedar.

Keen noses have previously associated Charles’s pulse points with Creed’s extravagant iris and lemon verbena Green Irish Tweed ($439, 100ml) and Parisian perfumer Annick Goutal’s citrusy Eau d’ Hadrien, ($249, 100ml), also favoured by the late rock star Prince.

In his autobiography Spare, Prince Harry revealed his father’s fondness for a more commercial fragrance, promoted by actor Johnny Depp.

“It was hard to smell anything over his personal scent,” Harry writes. “Eau Sauvage [$175, 100ml]. He’d slather the stuff on his cheeks, his neck, his shirt. Flowery, with a hint of something harsh, like pepper or gunpowder, it was made in Paris. Said so on the bottle. Which made me think of Mummy.”

As for Charles’s mummy Elizabeth, the late Queen was closely associated with Britain’s longest family-owned perfumer Floris, which has provided scents for the royal family since 1730.

Queen Elizabeth had a rumoured fondness for ‘White Roses’ by Floris, the only perfumery to receive a royal warrant. Guerlain’s ‘L’Heure Bleue’ was named by ‘Vogue’ as a favourite of the Queen.Credit: Getty

“Fragrance was popular with the unpopular Hanoverian kings, so a tunnel was used from the Floris store in Jermyn Street, London, to Buckingham Palace,” says Michael Marzano, from Australian perfume distributor Agence de Parfum. “Being from Germany, the home of Cologne, the Hanoverians were accustomed to wearing fragrances and this way could buy them without being scrutinised for extravagance.”

With the tunnel sealed for security reasons, Elizabeth most likely had a rumoured favourite White Roses ($190, 100ml), with notes of rose, violet and carnation, delivered by more traditional methods.

Floris was the only perfume brand granted a warrant by Elizabeth and created the woody Platinum 22 ($399, 100ml) to mark her Jubilee celebrations, but the Queen also had a fondness for French perfumer Guerlain’s L’Herure Blueue ($248, 100ml). Her attachment was reportedly so strong that oil from her coronation was kept in a bottle from Guerlain.

During the 2018 BBC documentary The Coronation, a distinctive Guerlain bottle containing coronation oil was produced by the retired Dean of Westminster, Dr John Hall.

“It is kept very safe in the Deanery, in a very hidden place in a little box here, which has in it a flask containing the oil from 1953,” says Hall. “You see what it consists of sesame seed and olive oil, perfume with roses, orange flowers, jasmine, musk, civet and ambergris.”

Unlike Camilla, whose scent preference is unknown, Charles’s first wife Diana was linked to many perfumes.

“She always, always, always wore fragrance, which is a huge thing in a woman’s life,” shared Mary Greenwell, Princess Diana’s makeup artist, in a 2014 interview. “It’s kind of the final touch of beauty, walking out smelling divine and chic and individual.”

Diana was linked to Penhaligon’s Bluebell ($250, 100ml), Hermès 24 Faubourg and Houbigant Paris Quelques Fleurs, which she wore on her wedding day in 1981.

Princess Diana is rumored to have worn Penahligon’s ‘Bluebell’. Prince Harry remembers his mother wearing ‘First’ in his autobiography ‘Spare’. On her wedding day Diana wore Houbigant Paris ‘Quelques Fleurs’.Credit: Getty

Mining his memories for Spare, Harry also recalled Diana wearing First by Van Cleef & Arpels, with notes of hyacinth, rose, jasmine, amber and sandalwood, which he took to a therapy session as an adult.

“At the start of our session, I lifted the lid, took a deep sniff,” Harry writes. “Like a tab of LSD. I read somewhere that smell is our oldest sense, and that fitted with what I experienced in that moment, images rising from what felt like the most primal part of my brain.”

So, what does Harry wear? It is rumoured the prince favours Davidoff Cool Water, available from Chemist Warehouse for $39.99, no secret tunnel required.

Fragrances of the royal family

Princess Catherine When it was announced that Kate Middleton wore White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum for her 2011 wedding to Prince William, the fragrance quickly sold out. Easier to obtain is Orange Blossom by Jo Malone ($234, 100ml), which was revealed by professional Kate-watcher, Susan Kelley, founder of the website What Kate Wore, to be Catherine’s current favourite.

Prince William Like father, like son. Traditionalist William is said to favour Blenheim Bouquet by Penhaligon’s ($250, 100ml). The fragrance created for the Duke of Marlborough in 1902 contains notes of pine, musk and black pepper. Apparently Prince Philip was also a fan, along with Penhaligon’s Hammam Bouquet ($250, 100ml).

Princess Anne While the Princess Royal’s practical wardrobe is rarely described as chic, her preference for perfume hints at an appreciation for luxury. Calèche ($275, 100ml) from French luxury house and saddle maker Hermès, with ylang ylang, wood and chypre, is said to be Anne’s favourite scent.

Sophie, Duchess of Wessex At her 1999 wedding day to Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex was very much a woman of the time, selecting Ralph Lauren’s Romance ($143, 50ml), with notes of Rose, Chamomile, Ginger, Lemon and Yellow Freesia.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex At her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle wore a custom scent from Floris inspired by their Beramotto di Positano perfume, which has notes of bergamot, orange blossom ginger, and green tea.

Like Catherine, Meghan also favours Jo Malone. While running her website The Tig, Meghan revealed a preference for Malone’s Wild Bluebell ($234, 100ml) and Wood Sage & Sea Salt ($234, 100ml), along with the floral Oribe Côte d’Azur ($148, 75ml).

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