PROTESTER’S BEST-LAID PLAN FAILS
LONDON: King Charles III and his wife Queen Consort Camilla narrowly avoided being hit with eggs during a visit to northern England.
The 73-year-old monarch and Camilla, 75, barely flinched as four eggs flew past their heads and crashed into the pavement nearby during a walkabout in York.
A man was heard shouting “this country was built on the blood of slaves” and “not my king” before he was detained by police.
The protester also booed the royal couple before he appeared to lob the eggs, and photos showed him poking his tongue out as he was carried away.
King Charles carried on meeting wellwishers after the eggs were thrown.
According to lip reader Jeremy Freeman, he told a female in military uniform
“it’s fine, let’s carry on”, The Mirror reports.
The monarch then turned to a protection officer and asked: “Everything all right?”
Mr Freeman believes the officer responded: “He’s been taken care of.”
Police confirmed the arrest of a 23-year-old man, identified by British media as former Green Party candidate and Extinction Rebellion activist Patrick Thelwell.
Mr Thelwell has been arrested several times, including in 2019 in a socalled peace tent in Trafalgar Square, according to The Sun.
He was convicted for obstructing a highway after joining protests blocking newspaper printing presses last year. Footage also showed him last year being removed from a community centre where he was squatting.
Other people in the crowds that had gathered at the historic Micklegate Bar location for the visit started chanting “God Save the King” and “shame on you” at the protester.
Charles and Camilla continued with a traditional ceremony to officially welcome the sovereign to the city of York.