King saved by egg thrower’s rotten aim

An anti-slavery protester has been detained after hurling four eggs at the King and Queen Consort as they greeted thousands of people in York.

King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, arrive at Micklegate Bar in York, moments before the egging. Picture: Getty Images

It was, someone said later, a waste of an egg. Or, to be precise, four eggs.

The King and Queen were targeted on Wednesday by a lone protester who threw eggs at them as they were greeted by thousands of people in York.

The protester, who was arrested, shouted “this country was built on the blood of slaves” after hurling eggs from among the crowd as the royal couple arrived at Micklegate Bar, the historic entrance to the city for the sovereign.

The message was rather scrambled, however, as the eggs all missed. Charles looked quizzically down at them before proceeding with his engagement.

Later, in Doncaster, he referred to the “warmth” of his welcome during the two-day visit to Yorkshire. “It is something which all who know this wonderful part of the world will recognise instantly, and can never forget.”

King Charles III reacts after an egg is thrown in his direction during a ceremony at Micklegate Bar in York. Picture: AFP

Plain-clothed royalty protection officers and uniformed local police swiftly moved in but struggled at first to contain the suspect as the crowds were packed so tight. The protester received a hostile reaction from the masses, who booed and shouted “shame on you” and “God save the King” to drown him out.

Kim Oldfield, owner of the Blossom Street Gallery, said: “The police just descended on the barrier and tried to drag this chap over the top. Camilla sort of flinched a little bit when the booing started but they [police] quelled it really quickly.”

Later, at a reception to mark Doncaster receiving city status, the King spoke to Ben Parkinson, 38, an army veteran who lost both his legs in Afghanistan. Mr Parkinson said afterwards: “They threw an egg in York? It’s wrong. We wouldn’t do that in Doncaster.”

North Yorkshire police confirmed a 23-year-old man was arrested at the scene. He is thought to be Patrick Thelwell, an Extinction Rebellion activist who stood unsuccessfully for the Green Party in the York city council elections in 2019. He was previously convicted of obstruction after being part of a September 2020 blockade of the plant in Knowsley, Merseyside, that prints The Times and The Sun.

Police arrest a 23-year-old man over the egg-throwing incident in York. Picture: Getty Images

While most will remember the royal visit for the eggs, Jason Tweedie-Long, five, will recall it as the time he went on a walkabout with the King and Queen.

His grandmother Wendy Loveday said that when they heard the King was coming they contacted the authorities because Jason would not be able to see him easily as he has nystagmus, a visual impairment. Jason and his grandmother were given a special position in the crowd and, after a palace official pulled the boy forward to see the royal visitors better, the couple stopped to say hello and took him for a short walkabout.

Ms Loveday said: “It made our day. How kind of them. We will never forget this.”

She added of the protester: “There’s always one idiot, isn’t there?”

At York Minster, in pouring rain, the King unveiled a statue of the late Queen Elizabeth by the cathedral stonemason Richard Bossons.

The statue, which was kept under wraps until the unveiling ceremony, depicts the Queen dressed in her Order of the Garter robes and wearing the George IV diadem traditionally used for the state opening of parliament.

The King told the crowds that he and his wife were “deeply touched” to be asked to unveil the statue.

Bossons said depicting the Queen had often been “hit and miss” but he focused on softening her features to give “a sense of her longevity”.

– The Times