Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.Getty
What do some members of the Royal family always travel with? It may surprise you.
Queen Elizabeth II was one of the most well-traveled heads of state in the world, having traveled constantly from when she became queen in 1952. But did you know that she always traveled with a bag of her own blood? And so too do King Charles and Prince William?
Speaking to Yahoo's The Royal Box in 2019, royal expert Duncan Larcombe said: "If it’s the Queen on tour, the royal physician is with them with a bag full of their own blood."
"Just in case something happens."
While it may seem odd, when you think about the importance of the monarch's health and how blood supplies might sometimes be questionable, it just made sense to bring her own in case of an emergency blood transfusion. The same now applies to King Charles and Prince William.
* Originally published in Aug 2019. Updated in 2023.