There was an unexpected patient waiting for King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit to London Zoo on Thursday.
The pair found themselves huddled next to Lannister, a Humboldt penguin, when they joined zoo vet Stefan Saverimuttu for a routine health check.
Charles appears in festive mood during the visit, which comes amid Harry’s special engagement in Birmingham.
Rebecca English shared a video on Instagram showing the King and Queen listening closely to heartbeats with colorful stethoscopes.
King Charles used a red one, while Queen Camilla carried out her own examination with a blue instrument, while the placid bird perched patiently on a rock.
Their visit was part of the bicentenary celebrations of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), where the royals spent time learning about the charity’s conservation work and meeting some of the zoo’s best-loved residents.
Veterinarian Stefan Saverimuttu said Lannister had been the perfect patient.
“Lannister sounded perfect and Lannister behaved very well for the king and queen,” he said.
He also praised their confidence, saying: “Both were really excited about them.”
Penguins have quite a beak, so if you’ve never met one before they can be a bit intimidating, but neither the King nor the Queen were the least bit intimidated.
They went right in, gave it a shot and they did really well.
King Charles smiled as he described the penguins as “very endearing”. He also met Polly, a Galápagos tortoise, and offered her a few snacks.
When Polly seemed unimpressed by the monarch’s offer, Charles jokingly asked his keeper if the tortoise was on a “diet”.
