Queen Camilla's surprising bad habit caught on camera in off-duty moment with King Charles

Royal Ascot kicked off yesterday, with the royal family out in force. I was on the ground on the day, and luckily got to see King Charles, Queen Camilla and other royal family members riding in their royal carriages around the parade ring. Once the races kicked off, they retreated to their private box for the perfect view and King Charles and Queen Camilla were seen clutching their binoculars to see the action. In one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Queen Camilla appeared to forget the world was watching when she let her bad habit slip out…

In all of the nerves of the race, Camilla appeared to begin biting her nail - there's a reason they call it 'nail-biting' action! It was a brief moment, and she quickly resumed using her binoculars. It's the first time we've seen Her Majesty do such a thing, so perhaps it was just the tense race that brought on the reflex. 

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There appeared to be no nerves for newlywed Harriet Phillips, who aced her first carriage appearance at Royal Ascot. The beauty wore head-to-toe pale blue and was all smiles alongside her new husband. As we watched the royals mingle in the parade ring, people appeared to come and congratulate Harriet and Peter on their nuptials, which took place earlier this month. 

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Other nail-biting royals

Princess Diana was a well-known nail biter, but she finally managed to kick her habit for good. Hairdresser Sam McKnight, who styled the royal for Vogue magazine, revealed to the Daily Mail that at the time of one of their shoots, she had just kicked her bad habit. "She had just stopped biting her nails and was so proud of how they looked," he said. 

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It is said that she passed down her habit to her eldest son, Prince William, who has been caught on camera appearing to chomp on his nails. 

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Something William and Meghan Markle have in common is this habit, as the Duchess of Sussex used to succumb to it too. However, she did make it her New Year's Resolution on her blog, The Tig, back in 2016.  "And when it comes to the biting of the nails—well, it still happens with a turbulent flight or a stressful day. It's unladylike. But then again, so is the swearing. Dammit," she penned. It is unknown if she still bites her nails today.