The King opened up about his bond with his cousin, Lady Sarah Chatto, as he and the Queen attended a star-studded reception at St James's Palace to celebrate 25 years of the Royal Drawing School.
Charles, who co-founded the school in 2000 with artist Catherine Goodman, mentioned his maternal cousin in an impromptu speech as he paid tribute to the school's legacy.
He said: "I can't resist saying a few very small words because above all, I wanted to pay a very special tribute to darling Catherine who, can you believe it, it all goes back really to when my very special cousin, Sarah [Chatto], and Catherine were young 18-year-old students at Camberwell School of Art and used to come bouncing into my room. I remember that was where it all started."
© Getty ImagesLady Sarah Chatto, 61, who is the daughter of the late Princess Margaret, is an artist who has exhibited her work at The Redfern Gallery since 1995.
Her eldest son, Samuel, has followed in his mother's footsteps and works as a sculptor.
© Getty ImagesLady Sarah is regularly seen at royal events, including the reception and Royal Ascot last week, and she is believed to share a close relationship with Charles, bonding over their love of landscape painting.
Creative King
Continuing his praise of Catherine Goodman, Charles added: "So when I needed somebody to start the life drawing classes at my original old Institute of Architecture in Regent's Park, I thought Catherine is the ideal person. Otherwise these young trainee architects won't understand the importance of life drawing in terms of proportion, scale and everything else.
"Her dedication and her love for the students created this remarkable, I hope, legacy which will continue. So we do all owe her a huge debt of gratitude.
© PA Images via Getty Images"Imagine, just perhaps, how proud I am of all these students over all these years. I have always believed in investing in talent for the future in many different spheres, particularly in the cultural world but also in all sorts of others.
"So to see these young people develop into middle-aged people still painting is remarkable and achieving so much, and I hope enabling them to discover and develop and demonstrate their remarkable talents. It's an investment that has been rewarded a thousand-fold."
© PA Images via Getty ImagesThe exhibition, The Power Of Drawing, features 50 works by well-known names and emerging talent, celebrating the act of drawing as a universal form of expression.
Among the contributors were artists David Hockney and Tracey Emin, filmmaker Tim Burton, designer Thomas Heatherwick and the King himself.
© Royal RotaHighlights include Hockney's original charcoal pieces, Cut Trees And Timber Gone, and Burton's untitled watercolour, a rare public showing of his work on paper.
Emin, who contributed a 2024 piece titled Because You Left – I Held On, told the PA news agency: "I think he's a fan of my work. What I feel really good about is it’s for a good cause.
"King Charles has always loved and appreciated art and he's an artist himself. It makes sense and it's very appropriate."
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