This afternoon, a pen incurred the wrath of the King as it began leaking while he was signing a visitors’ book in Northern Ireland.
On Saturday, the King required the assistance of an assistant to remove an ink well off a table, which he requested by repeatedly waving his hand at the offending object.
It appears that this was not the first time the monarch’s pen had malfunctioned, as he grew agitated and swore.
The King was at Hillsborough Castle to honor his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
As he signed the book, he had to ask an assistant what the date was because he had written the incorrect one.
After completing his note, the King presented the pen to the Queen Consort, Camilla.
He lost his patience with the offending instrument at this point.
Oh my god, I abhor this, he exclaimed.
As the King wiped the ink off his hand, his wife said, “Oh my goodness, it’s everywhere!”
An assistant intervened and removed the pen from the Queen Consort’s hand.
As he departed, the King exclaimed, “I cannot endure this blasted thing… every stinking time!”
Earlier in the succession process, the King had also required assistance in signing a paper.
Saturday, during the Accession Council at St. James’s Palace, His Majesty repeatedly flapped his palm at an inkwell on the table and waited for an assistant to remove it.
One former aide told Reuters that although the King might be amusing, he was sometimes irritable and demanding.
