‘At least it didn’t land on my head!’: King Charles sees the funny side after ending up with seagull droppings on his jacket on visit to Northern Ireland
King Charles may have been in luck this afternoon after he got seagull droppings on his suit jacket during his visit to Northern Ireland today.
The 77-year-old monarch visited beautiful Newcastle County Down to highlight important local community projects.
The incident occurred as he was leaving a food bank project in Newcastle, County Down, leaving a visible white stain on the back of Charles’s dress.
Although he was a good sport, the father of two quickly laughed it off and continued on his way through the crowd of well-wishers.
And when a member of the public pointed out the incident, Charles simply joked: ‘At least it didn’t occur to me.’
A royal aide discreetly pointed this out and offered him his coat to wear, but Her Majesty smilingly declined the offer and insisted on wading into the huge, cheering crowd for an impromptu march because they had been waiting so long.
The King and Queen went their separate ways on the second day of their three-day visit to Northern Ireland; Camilla took a stroll through the village of Hillsborough, just 12 miles from Belfast and home to Hillsborough Castle.
King’s first stop was Newcastle Community Cinema, which was founded by a group of local film enthusiasts in 2008 and is now at the heart of community life.
King Charles experienced an unfortunate incident today during his visit to Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland.
When he arrived at the counter, Vera Edelstein, who was manning the booth, gave him a special ‘VIP’ ticket.
‘Is this for me?’ he smiled. ‘This is a very generous act.’ He also asked about movies that have been shown recently and how popular different movies are.
He was later invited to the screening to help play the short trailer for Silent Love, a new film about a real-life deaf couple and their lives during the Troubles.
When he later met John and Agnes Carberry he told them: ‘You were very brave. When did you meet? At school? Oh childhood loves. Pleasant. ‘
She also met Northern Irish actor Ian McElhinney, who starred in TV series Derry Girls and Game of Thrones.
He then went to Donard Methodist Church, where he met volunteers from the Pantry Food Bank and giggled at them as they examined the contents of their boxes.
He picked up a roll of toilet paper and said: ‘Very important.’
The group provides food to about 52 families a month and fears demand will increase due to rising heating oil prices this winter.
The mark was visible on the back of the monarch’s dress, but he laughed off the incident and continued to meet well-wishers.
‘Do you manage?’ he asked.
‘Do they talk about who they think will need help? You have beautiful eggs. Wonderful. And are you getting good feedback? Do people come and collect or do you visit? There are so many delicious pastas and things. Things families need. ‘
Then this week he was invited to help pack a box that would go to one person.
He carefully and neatly placed the bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, toothbrush and toothpaste inside.
“I’m sure it was a special order for them to come in,” thought the King.
‘Oh, this needs to lie down properly.’
‘Very, very important,’ he added, placing more toilet paper.
‘You are all very, very special people. What you do is very important. ‘
After meeting community groups, including the local RNLI and Mountain Rescue, he went on a walk where people shouted his name and chanted ‘God Save the King’.
These included Rosemary Allan, who was about to celebrate her 102nd birthday, and 11-year-old student George Murdoch, who brought a box of fresh eggs to give to the monarch.
A member of the crowd said: ‘Welcome to Northern Ireland Your Majesty, thank you for coming to see us.’
Another member of the crowd shouted: ‘We love you Charles.’
A third told her: ‘This is so special. I will never forget this. The last monarch to visit was King George V, so he was long overdue. We’re so grateful.’
