His Royal Hiveness! Charles is selling his own honey

Now here’s a story to get you buzzing.

Bottles of honey from Prince Charles’ beehives on his estate in the English countryside have gone on sale, with all proceeds earmarked for the charities the king-in-waiting supports.

But buyers are going to have to dig deep for this sticky stuff: a 350 g jar of Highgrove Royal Estate organic honey will set you back a whopping £25 – that’s about R550.

Still, the creatures that make the “beautifully delicate” honey, as it’s been described, are no ordinary common or garden variety. These bees live in specially commissioned hand-built hives on Charles’ Gloucestershire property.

According to the UK’s Daily Mail the three hives, which resemble mini country homes, were a 70th birthday gift to His Royal Highness from upmarket London food store Fortnum & Mason – the royal family’s favourite shop.

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One features a distinctive blue dome with the Prince of Wales' feathers – the heraldic badge of the prince – and four giant bees on top, while another has large decorative stone ovals and intricate carvings.

Being the environmentalist he is, the 71-year-old prince has been particularly worried about the global decline in bee numbers – nearly one in 10 wild species in Europe are facing extinction – and this resulted in him filling his gardens with bee-attracting plants.

His wife, Camilla, is also the president of Bees for Development, which encourages beekeeping in developing countries as a way for local communities to support themselves.

Sweet pair, aren’t they.

Sources: dailymail.co.uk, independent.co.uk, mindfood.com