King Charles and Queen Camilla attend a reception and dinner at Mansion House on October 18.Photo:Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool/Getty
Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool/Getty
King Charlesis joking around about his struggles with stationery during his royal reign!
On Thursday night, the King, 74, called back to hisviral snafuswith writing instruments last September during aglittering dinnerat Mansion House. The event was held to recognize the work of the City of London’s civic institutions and Livery Companies, the city’s ancient and modern trade guilds, andcontinued traditionsfor the new monarch’s first visit to the area dating back to 1689.
King Charles attended withQueen Camilla, where he addressed the guests about how the U.K. is a “community of communities” and how things like artificial intelligence and climate change will continue to shape today’s “watershed age.” In an upbeat highlight, the sovereign said the humor of the British people was a well from which to draw strength — before pivoting to his previous pen problem!
“The cherished well from which the sound of laughter can be heard — the healing well filled with a sense of humor laced with an invigorating dash of self-irony. This well flows liberally into all the others. The British sense of humor is world-renowned,” the King said.
King Charles makes a speech at Mansion House on October 18.Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool/Getty
“It is not what we do. It is who we are. Our ability to laugh at ourselves is one of our great national characteristics. Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year!” he continued, which made the crowd laugh.
Days after his accession in September 2022, King Charles wentviral onlineafter a video hit of him struggling with a leaky pen during a signing ceremony at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“I can’t bear this bloody thing! Every stinking time,” Charles told an aide as he and his wife attempted to clean the mess.
During the Accession Council’s all-important proclamation of Charles as King in London two days afterQueen Elizabeth’s death, the newly minted monarchsimilarly seemed impatientwhen the desk he had to sign the Accession Proclamation was crowded with an inkpot and pen box. After giving an irritated wave, his equerryLieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson(who has lit up the internet with his dashing good looks!) cleared the way for the symbolic signing to continue.
King Charles during a symbolic signing with the Accession Council on September 10, 2022.VICTORIA JONES/POOL/AFP via Getty
Though King Charles might have been annoyed in both moments, he’s since seemed to bring a little levity to his royal responsibilities. Last October, hequietly jokedabout unpredictable pens as he signed a visitor’s book at a council meeting in Dunfermline, Scotland, with Queen Camilla, 76.
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Charles and Camilla in Scotland in 2021.Chris Jackson/Getty
Like many royal engagements, the couple signed a visitor’s book at a pre-dinner reception at Mansion House, which luckily seemed to go smoothly. Charles and Camilla also took time to connect with representatives of the City of London Corporation, the Common Council, the Livery Companies and the City’s finance sector.
In a thoughtful nod to her late mother-in-law, Queen Camilla sparkled in Queen Elizabeth’s go-toGirls of Great Britain and Ireland tiarafor the first time.
source: people.com
