FFor many years it was one of King Charles’ favorite retreats for rejuvenation. And as he made the long return journey from his tour of Australia and Samoa this week, it seemed the King couldn’t resist a quick spa break at his favorite Indian wellness resort.
In a visit that remained a closely guarded secret, Charles and Queen Camilla quietly arrived in India last Saturday and drove to the Soukya International Holistic Health Center, a wellness resort on the outskirts of the southern city of Bengaluru. The center is a favorite of the royal couple, who have visited several times, and it is where Charles spent his 71st birthday, but this was the royal family’s first visit to India since he became king.
Set in a lush 30-hectare organic farm full of vegetables, fruits and traditional medicinal herbs, Soukya – derived from the Sanskrit word for harmony – describes itself as a place to restore the “natural balance of body, mind and spirit”.
The programs include a combination of yoga, homeopathic practices and traditional Indian medicine known as Ayurveda, which is derived from ancient texts. Other celebrity guests included the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmund Tutu and actor Emma Thompson.
The entire resort was closed for the three days Charles and Camilla visited, and no outsiders were allowed inside. The couple were put up in the £1,000-a-night presidential suite, which has three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room. a kitchen and an outdoor shower surrounded by banana palms and flowers.
Sources told local media that the center’s program had been adapted for Charles, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. “This time, the sessions he underwent for chemotherapy for his cancer were for rejuvenation, detoxification and strengthening of the immune system,” sources told the Hindu newspaper.
The royal couple’s routine is said to have started with a morning yoga session, with Camilla said to be a yoga enthusiast. This was followed by a typical vegetarian South Indian breakfast, with items such as dosas and idlis, as well as fresh juices and coconut water. They then received rejuvenation therapies in the morning and afternoon, including healing massages, and concluded with an evening meditation session before going to bed at 9 p.m.
According to local media, Charles and Camilla enjoyed the tranquility of the Soukya area and reportedly took long walks around the farm and cowsheds. Before Charles left on Wednesday, he planted a sapling of the Jacaranda tree on the grounds of the health center.
Charles and Camilla’s relationship with Soukya goes back years. The center was founded by Issac Mathai, a doctor of holistic medicine from Kerala, who first met Charles at a conference in London in 2002. The pair became friends over a shared interest in natural and holistic therapies, and in 2010 Camilla created her first visit to the Indian resort.
Both she and Charles have visited Soukya several times since. Mathai has become a personal holistic doctor and close friend of the king, regularly traveling to Britain to provide him with treatments.
Mathai was invited to the coronation ceremony and had tea with Charles and Camilla at Windsor Castle. The royal couple love the organic mangoes grown on Soukya’s farm so much that they have a box delivered to Buckingham Palace every year.