King Charles has poked fun at himelf by recalling his frustration over a fountain pen at an event celebrating his Coronation.
Charles made the joke while praising the positive contribution immigrants have made to British humour in his state of the nation address in the City of London on Wednesday (October 18).
The King also celebrated British science, innovation and scholarship and expressed the hope that these would help combat the challenge of global warming.
He said: “The British sense of humour is world-renowned. It is not what we do. It is who we are. Our ability to laugh at ourselves is one of our great national characteristics.”
In a reference to his troubles with leaking or troublesome pens after his accession, he joked: “Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year!”
King Charles vented his frustration at a leaky pen at a signing ceremony in Northern Ireland in September when the monarch initially wrote down the wrong date while signing a visitors’ book before the cameras at Belfast’s Hillsborough Castle.
When his pen started to leak ink, he said, “Oh god, I hate this [pen]”, before standing up and handing it to Camilla.
Charles then commented: “I can’t bear this bloody thing – what they do – every stinking time.”
It came after the King expressed frustration at a pen holder as he struggled to find enough room on a desk during his proclamation ceremony at St James’s Palace.
On a recent visit to Germany, the monarch used his own pen in a bid to avoid another irritable, public outburst.
King Charles’s landmark speech to the City of London examined the country he has served as head of state for more than a year, highlighting “what it is that makes this nation of ours so special”.
The King praised the public service which underpins institutions supporting Britain in areas like health, security and national defence to learning and industry, taking many “far beyond the call of duty”.
But he raised issues, from whether evidence of climate change was enough to convince society to make the “sacrifices” needed to safeguard the Earth, to the “digital sphere” where debate too often descends into “rancour and acrimony”.
Charles also described the nation as living in a “watershed age”, asking whether developments such as artificial intelligence would bring “material plenty and leisure” or “consume jobs and other opportunities before capturing and then surpassing our very minds themselves”.
Speaking at Mansion House, where he attended a dinner with Queen Camilla to recognise the work of City of London civic institutions and Livery Companies, the King commented on the “politeness and respect” we should show each other.
He added: “This includes the practice of our religious faiths, in freedom and mutual understanding.
“One of my first acts as sovereign, a little over a year ago, was to open the doors of Buckingham Palace to the leaders of the major faiths represented across these islands – to welcome them, with respect and indeed love, and to re-dedicate my life to protecting the space for faith itself within our shores.
“Such understanding, both at home and overseas, is never more vital than at times of international turmoil and heartbreaking loss of life.”
His comments came amid the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas and its wider ramifications in the UK and elsewhere.
