As King Charles III's Coronation is just days away plenty of Brits are getting Royal fever. Some will be heading to London for the big day while others will celebrate with fun and games at some of the UK's most interesting castles.
But, those with a few quid to spare might choose to connect with the Royal Family in a whole other way. You could book in to stay at some of their favourite resorts and destinations. In fact, a week's holiday to Queen Camilla's favourite island can be booked from £314 per person.
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Gorgeous Ischia is a volcanic island off the coast of Italy which has held a special plane in the royal's heart since she was a child, reports state. The now Queen Camilla has spoken about how much she loves visiting the island – a relationship which stemmed from family holidays she enjoyed there as a young girl, the Daily Express reports.
Years later, the Queen brought her own kids, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles, to Ischia for holidays there. It's easy to see why as sitting in the Gulf of Naples the island is filled with natural beauty from hot springs to the golden sand beaches.
It teems with history too – Roman ruins lie beneath the sea floor at Cartaromana Beach and there’s a medieval castle linked to the island with a stone bridge. We can see why even a royal would want to walk among its walls.
Camilla recently told her son Tom, who is a food critic for You Magazine: "Every year, we went on holiday to the island of Ischia, just off Naples. There were endless lunches of vitello al limone [veal escalope with lemon], fried zucchini, lots of fresh fish and pasta. It instilled a lifelong passion for Italian food."
Who wouldn't want to tuck into pasta, seafood and fritto (fried Italian street food) while enjoying the sunshine? Naples is famed for plenty of dishes from fried pizza to sfogliatelle pastries, steak pasta Genovese and cuoppo.
The 75-year-old's passion for Ischia is shared by a mounting number of young Brits who flock there for sun, sand and sea. On the Beach has seen a 300 percent increase in bookings to Ischia in just three months, likely due to its proximity to a member of the Royal Family.
Plus, the island is not so far from incredible excursion sites like Pompeii and Herculaneum. You'll certainly never get bored in the Gulf of Naples. The good news is trips to the island needn't cost a fortune – especially as you can fly there in economy and not on the Royal's private jet.
In May, holidays for seven nights are on offer for as little as £340 per person and another for £585 for two people, flights included. Ischia is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea at the northern tip of the Gulf of Naples and is only 19 miles from the Italian mainland and 36 miles from the airport in Naples.
The island welcomes six million visitors a year, significantly swelling its 62,000 person population and turning it into bustling hub of activity. It is famous for its thermal springs and has one of the biggest spas in Europe, attracting tourists from all over the world to its warm waters and wellness holiday packages.
Sorgeto beach allows visitors to wander down to the seafront and immerse themselves in lapping waves warmed by the natural hot spring rising up from the floor below. Oddly, the islanders even cook eggs, potatoes and seafood in some of the basins as they have done for centuries.
Another draw is the Ischia Film Festival which takes place in the summer and attracts the great and good to a bash within the crumbling remains of the Castello Aragonese d'Ischia. It continues the island's long movie heritage that arguable peaked when Elizabeth Taylor visited in 1963 to film sections of the historical epic Cleopatra.
Ischia Porto, the busiest town on the island, has a wide variety of restaurants, including ones on La Riva Destra, beside the harbour, and along Via Roma's shopping district. Delicious regional cuisine will excite visitors' taste buds, including freshly caught fish and authentic Italian specialities.
Ischia may be Camilla's favourite, but you can also feel part of the Royal Family's history by staying on the famous Balmoral Estate.
There are several cottages on the estate that can be rented by holidaymakers. The Balmoral website reads: "Colt Cottages are situated in close proximity to the Castle, near the Estates Office and Stables.
"Access is by the public road to Balmoral and thereafter by the private Estate road. Bookings at Colt Cottage run on a Saturday to Saturday basis and the cottages are available throughout the year, with the exception of some weeks during The Royal Visit."
It continues: "There are two cottages, which are semi detached. They can be occupied separately or if required they can be used together by one large family. Each cottage consists of a lounge with dining area and double sofa bed, kitchen – electric cooker, microwave, fridge freezer, dishwasher and washing machine.
"Double bedroom, single bedroom, shower room with toilet. "The cottages are connected to mains electricity with night storage heaters for space heating. There is a television and DVD player in the lounge. Unfortunately there is no telephone in the property however there is Wi-Fi reception."
Unfortunately, you cannot rent the cottages when the King is in residence at Balmoral for security reasons. But you'll still get to enjoy the stunning landscapes and cosy comforts that King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth enjoyed.
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