Although Charles III has been preparing to be king his whole life, his training apparently didn’t include dealing with inanimate objects.
That was made painfully clear on Tuesday when the 73-year-old monarch was momentarily flummoxed by a leaky pen he was using during a signing ceremony in Belfast, Northern Ireland, according to the Mirror.
The new king was asked to sign a visitors’ book at Hillsborough Castle, but what really made ink was when the pen he was using leaked all over his hand ― in front of news cameras.
A frustrated Charles handed the pen to his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, while griping, “Oh God, I hate this [pen]!”
Camilla’s response: “Oh look, it’s going everywhere.”
Although Charles wiped the ink off his fingers, he seemed to take the pen leaking personally, saying, “I can’t bear this bloody thing ... every stinking time,” as he walked away.
This is the new king’s second encounter with ink that made ink this week.
Over the weekend, a video that showed Charles snippily directing an aide to remove an inkwell from his desk went viral.
That clip attracted lots of snark, but the leaky pen clip seemed to inspire something more akin to sympathy.