An unexpected patient awaited King Charles and Queen Camilla during their visit to London Zoo on Thursday.
The pair found themselves crouched next to Lannister, a Humboldt penguin, as they joined zoo veterinarian Stefan Saverimuttu for a routine health check.
Charles appears in a celebratory 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 carefully listening 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 calm bird perched patiently on a rock.
Their visit was part of the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) 200th anniversary celebrations, during which 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 ideal patient.
“Lannister looked perfect and Lannister behaved very well towards the king and queen,” he said.
He also praised their confidence, saying, “Both of them were really excited about them.”
Penguins have quite the beak, so if you’ve never met one before, they can be a little intimidating, but neither the king nor the queen were intimidated at all.
They went right in, tried it and did very well.
King Charles smiled as he described the penguins as “very endearing”. He also met Polly, a Galapagos tortoise, and offered her some snacks.
When Polly seemed unimpressed by the monarch’s offering, Charles jokingly asked his keeper if the turtle was on a “diet.”
