King Charles III frustrated by faulty pen at ceremony in Ireland

I’m drawing! King Charles III suffered a spilled pen scandal at a signing ceremony in Northern Ireland – and the monarch was none too pleased.

“Oh my God, I hate this thing!” Charles, 73, joked as pen ran all over his hand as he signed a visitor’s book at Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday, September 13.

The monarch quickly stood up and handed the pen to his wife as she rubbed her fingers together. “Oh look, it’s everywhere,” Queen Consort CamillaThe 75-year-old said as she inspected the pen, to which the king replied: “I can’t stand the bloody thing … every time it stinks,” before leaving the room.

The sovereign was also frustrated because he initially signed the wrong date on the documents before contacting an aide who warned him that he was out of date.

Members of the royal family arrived at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast on Tuesday as part of their UK tour following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, September 8. They looked at the tributes, including flowers and handwritten notes, left in honor of the late Queen. They also attended a reflection service in honor of the Queen at St Anne’s Cathedral.

As he addressed the Irish people for the first time as king, Charles said he would continue his mother’s mission to support the welfare of Northern Ireland.

In the years since she began her long life of public service, my mother has seen Northern Ireland go through important and historic changes,” the royal patriarch said in his speech on Tuesday. “During all these years she never ceased to pray for better times for this place and its people, whose stories she knew, whose sorrows our family had experienced, and for whom she had great affection and respect.”

This isn’t the first time Charles has been seen struggling since his mother’s death. At his accession council on Saturday, September 10, the monarch appeared annoyed as he motioned for aides to move pen holders that were in the way as he signed papers.

It has been a busy — and difficult — few days for the monarch following the death of the 96-year-old. After jetting off to Scotland to be by his mother’s side at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Charles returned to London on Friday, September 9, for his reception ceremony. On Monday, September 12, he flew back to Edinburgh to walk behind the Queen’s coffin alongside his siblings Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne.

After spending some time in Ireland, the king returned to London again to meet the rest of the royal family – including the sons Prince William, Prince Harry and their respective wives, Princess Kate and Meghan Markle — to get Elizabeth’s casket. She is to spend the last night at her longtime home, Buckingham Palace.

On Wednesday, September 14, there will be a procession to Westminster Hall, where the royal family will attend a short service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury with Rev. Dr. David Hoyledean of Westminster before her lying state began.

After Wednesday’s event, members of the public will be able to pay their respects in person for several days until her state funeral on Monday, September 19. Her final resting place will be at Windsor Castle in a tomb with her late husband, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 aged 99.