King Charles III and Queen Camilla made a low-profile visit to a luxury wellness retreat in Bengaluru early this month. It was Charles’s first visit to India since he became King. According to sources, the royal couple arrived on October 27 and stayed for four days at the Soukya International Holistic Health Centre, situated outside the city limits. They had come directly from Samoa, where they attended the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The king and queen are scheduled to depart on October 30 after their treatment as part of wellness. Since it was a private visit, no public engagements were organized during their stay in Bengaluru.
This is particularly a special visit in the context of recent reports about Charles’ illness with cancer in that it underlines his belief in integrative and Eastern medicine modalities.
Activities included morning yoga classes, breakfast, and spa treatments before lunch. After some rest, the couple continued with more therapies, culminating in meditation toward the end of the day, dinner, and lights out at 9 PM.
While this is King Charles’s first visit as monarch, he has paid nine visits to the facility in the last decade. He celebrated Deepavali at SIHHC on three occasions and notably celebrated his 71st birthday there in 2019.
Soukya is touted as the world’s first integrative health destination and has attracted many celebrities, including famous dancer Mallika Sarabhai, Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, as well as royal families from the Middle East and Europe.
Founded in 2011 by Dr. Issac Mathai and his wife, Soukya offers an alternative approach to wellness. The retreat is overseen by Dr. Mathai, who has acted as Charles’ holistic physician and attended his coronation. It features 25 guest rooms, a yoga hall, a library, and a swimming pool.
Renowned for its specialty blend of ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and yoga, SIHHC provides special wellness programs catering to stress management, detoxification, and health rebalancing. Other treatments include acupuncture, reflexology, and various massages; programs like Panchakarma target rebalancing the body’s doshas.
