A royal day out: All the places we'd take King Charles if he was visiting Derby for the day

The county is an exciting place that has attracted a whole host of celebrities and royalty over the years.

They include Spice Girl Mel B, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Wayne Rooney (who was the gaffer for The Rams for two years’ in 2020) and of course, a glitzy smattering of visiting royals.

King Charles has been to Derby several times over the years, his most notable visits being 1981, 2011 and 2012.

Following a cancer diagnosis in February, the monarch is currently undergoing treatment.

A statement released on the official website of the British Royal Family, said King Charles is ‘looking forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.’

We wish King Charles well and would love to see him in this neck of the woods.

We have created a very special (imaginary) itinerary just for him, based on some of his favourite things in the world.

You can learn more fun facts about our magnificent monarch on the official website for The British Royal Family.

Tea at Derby Pyclet Parlour

The King’s favourite tea is Darjeeling with honey and milk.

Derby Pyclet Parlour is a quaint café in the city centre that has an excellent tea menu, which includes Darjeeling.

King Charles famously does not eat lunch, so we have him covered on that front too. 

He can tuck into a late breakfast of pyclets that come with various toppings, including roasted peppers, or berries and cream, while he’s there, to get him ready for a busy day ahead in Derby.

For more information about the parlour visit their social page by clicking here. 

Stroll around Electric Daisy gardens

The King has been raising awareness of environmental issues for over 50 years so it makes sense he meets Derby’s very own sustainability champion Jamie Quince-Starkey. 

Jamie can show the King around Electric Daisy, a critically acclaimed communal garden that aims to ‘create collective purpose through nature.’

For more information about DTE visit their website by clicking here.

Read more: What's On in Derby?

Arts appreciation at Derby Museum & Art Gallery

Our talented monarch is a keen painter who is partial to the odd painting.

He had a watercolour displayed in the Royal Academy's 1987 summer exhibition after it was submitted anonymously.

We think he will enjoy Derby Museum’s Joseph Wright Gallery, which is thought to be the world’s largest collection of works by the acclaimed artist born in Derby in 1734.

For more information about the museum visit their website by clicking here. 

History tour of Derby

History holds a special place in the King’s heart.

He switched his degree from archaeology and anthropology, to history whilst at The University of Cambridge.

We think King Charles will enjoy the History Guided Derby Tour which tells a story of Romans, Vikings and 18th century enlightenment in the heritage-rich city of Derby.

For more information about the tours visit the website by clicking here.

Matinée at Derby Theatre

It can be said King Charles loves dramatic production having played the lead in Shakespeare’s Macbeth in 1965 when he was a student at Gordonstoun School in Scotland.

He can enjoy a matinée performance at the city’s theatre and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes Valley Of Fear sounds great!

For more information visit the theatre website by clicking here.

Visit Derby's Bluebell Dairy Farm

The King is said to be a keen horticulturist. He was even given the title Keeper Of The Cows, by the Masai in Tanzania in 2011, in recognition of his work as a farmer.

We think he would love this farm whose events include watching lambs being bottle-fed, cuddling goats, and enjoying the lush greenery,

For more information visit the dairy website by clicking here.

Food hamper stuffed with goodies to take back home

We’re pleased to see King Charles, like us, loves good food and drink.

When you visit an awesome place, it is customary to take home some treats for the family. 

Derbyshire is blessed with independent producers who work hard to create artisanal products. 

We think King Charles can take away a good hamper and continue enjoying the very best of Derbyshire at home, with his family.

As he is partial to cheese - cheesy baked eggs are one of his favourite recipes - we have included this in what could be included in a hamper fit for royalty.

The cheesy egg recipe can be found below.

We envisage a hamper chock-full of pyclets from Derby Pyclets Parlour, local cheese and chutneys from Milk & Honey Deli, and beer from Suds & Soda.

The monarch may have his own brand of whisky (Barrogill), but he may well be intrigued by White Peak Distillery’s whisky range.

The Independent reports Queen Camilla is fond of chocolate ice cream, which is why we’ve included in the hamper, a few tubs of Devilishly Chocolate ice cream from Bluebell Dairy Farm.

We had great fun drawing up an exciting itinerary for King Charles that would take him across the city.

Derby World has worked hard to incorporate his interests and passions for the best day out, and we and look forward to seeing him in Derby soon.