King Charles and Queen Camilla Were Egged During a Walkabout

Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Camilla, Queen Consort are welcomed to the City of York during a ceremony at Micklegate Bar during their visit to York, northern England on November 9, 2022 as part of a two-day tour of Yorkshire. - Micklegate Bar is considered to be the most important of York's gateways and has acted as the focus for various important events. It is the place The Sovereign traditionally arrives when entering the city.

(Image credit: Photo by James Glossop / Getty)

published 10 November 2022

King Charles III and Queen Camilla were targeted by an egg-throwing attack during a walkabout in York, in the north of England, this week.

The royal couple were meeting and chatting with locals when a 23-year-old student pelted three eggs at them, none of which succeeded in reaching their targets.

The protester was restrained by police and arrested, at which point he was heard shouting, "this country was built on the blood of slaves."

In footage from the attack, the King can be seen calmly ending his conversation with the person he was talking to as he notices the eggs hitting the ground.

Though the crowd broke out in chants of "God save the King" and "shame on you," Charles appeared to keep levelheaded throughout the incident.

Lip reader Jeremy Freeman told the Mirror that the King told the person he was chatting to, "pleased to meet you."

When the royal party started making their way through the crowd again, he seemed to say to one of the people accompanying him, "It's fine, let's carry on." He also apparently asked a protection officer, "Everything alright?" to which the answer looks to have been, "He's been taken care of."

A witness, Kim Oldfield, told the BBC that she was "enjoying" seeing the royal couple before hearing "some booing and eggs flying."

She recalled, "I glanced across, [saw] the police just descended on the barrier and tried to drag this chap over the top.

"About five eggs he'd managed to send.

"Camilla sort of flinched a little bit when the booing started but they [police] quelled it really quickly. Just a shame they spoilt what was a lovely moment."

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, also commented on the incident.

"Those in public life are in positions of vulnerability at times and I certainly want to live in a country, and indeed in a world, where we're not so surrounded by people minding us that we can't meet people and chat with people," Cottrell told the BBC.

"That is certainly what the King and the Queen Consort want. They were out chatting with people [later in the day]. So I don't think they've let it affect them."

Big "keep calm and carry on" vibes from Charles and Camilla here.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.