King’s visit to deprived area ‘was in poor taste’, says egg thrower
A MAN has been fined after he threw an egg towards the King because he thought the monarch’s visit to a deprived area was “in poor taste”.
Harry May pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates’ court yesterday to a Section 5 public order offence relating to the King’s walkabout in Luton in early December.
The 21-year-old told officers that he threw the egg towards the monarch “because he believed visiting a town like Luton, which is a deprived and poor area, was in bad taste”, the court heard.
The egg, which May said was not intended to hit the King, flew past the monarch and landed on the ground nearby as members of his security swiftly ushered him away.
Prosecutor Jason Seetal said that the police who detained May found a soup tin in his jacket containing a second egg that he also intended to throw. Mr Seetal told the court that when May was interviewed by police after the incident, he said he “wanted to make a point” by throwing the projectile during the monarch’s Luton walkabout.
The King was in the Bedfordshire town to visit its newly built Guru Nanak Gurdwara and the town hall, when May hurled the egg in his direction as a large crowd flocked to greet him.
Mr Seetal said: “There had been a large crowd of members of the public there to greet King Charles III.
“As he exited a vehicle, he’s gone to greet members of the public, shaking hands and having a few brief conversations as he moved along the line.
“Within that crowd that had gone to greet him was Harry May.”
May, of south Luton, was later confronted by a police officer who asked what he had thrown, to which he replied: “An egg.”
The 21-year-old sat in the dock yesterday wearing glasses and a navy jacket as his defence lawyer, Alex Benn, told the court he “deeply regrets” his actions.
Mr Benn described May as a “committed and family-oriented person” who “cares deeply about his local community”. May was fined £100 and ordered to pay £85 in costs.
Footage of the incident shows the King looking over his shoulder as his security staff huddle around him and guide him away. It was the second such incident in a month as it came just weeks after a 23-year-old was arrested for launching eggs at the King and Queen Consort during a visit to York.
The couple had just arrived in the city on Nov 9 to unveil a statue in honour of the late Queen at York Minster when Patrick Thelwell threw four eggs, all of which missed. As Thelwell was bundled to the ground by police, onlookers chanted “shame on you” and “God save the King”.
The incidents are not the first time the reigning monarch has been targeted by protesters.
In 1992, the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were pelted with eggs during a visit to Dresden, Germany, a city devastated by British bombs towards the end of the Second World War.