King Charles had an awkward 'ambush' that he handled gracefully in Berlin. In a weird coincidence, his wife dealt with a similar issue just weeks before - but struggled to know how to react to this unusual fan encounter.
- King Charles and Queen Camilla are currently in Berlin, Germany on a state visit.
- The royal couple have been greeted by fans and have already had some funny interactions with the crowds.
- In other royal news, Paul O'Grady's surprising words of warning to Meghan Markle before she married Prince Harry.
King Charles and the Queen consort Camilla are currently in Germany on their first state visit since becoming the heads of the Royal Family.
While greeting fans in Berlin, the King encountered one royal fan who was wearing a Burger King paper hat. Very kindly, the fan offered the hat to the King and said, "This is for you, if you want it". The King smiled but quickly said, "No, I'm all right," rejected the crown from the fast food chain.
Great scenes today during the King’s first walkabout in Berlin. He was affectionately offered a crown - a paper Burger King one - by a well-wisher who told him politely:`This is for you, if you want it’. Charles smiled broadly and said: ‘I’m alright!’ pic.twitter.com/KqHypSjopVMarch 29, 2023
In a funny coincidence, Queen Camilla was given a burger crown as a 'last minute gift' in an 'awkward' moment during a royal outing. While on a walkabout in Colchester, Charles and Camilla met with royal fans as they celebrated the area's new city status on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
Unlike Charles, the Queen consort accepted this gag gift and said 'thank you very much' to the royal fans. Her reaction appeared to be very taken off-guard and she struggled to formulate the right response to the crowd, as she hastily moved on.
Somebody in Colchester gave Camilla? the Queen Consort, a Burger King crown. One to wear for the coronation? pic.twitter.com/uwTs4qt7T3March 7, 2023
Body language expert, Judi James, spoke to woman&home and compared the reactions from the King and Queen. Judi then suggested why Camilla's reaction to this gift was slightly more awkward than King Charles'.
"Experience seems to tell when it comes to accepting ‘gifts’ from the crowd on royal walkabouts. When Camilla was handed a paper crown she looked taken aback and inspected it with the kind of curiosity of someone who is possibly a stranger to the joys of a burger bar. She did hold onto it though, looking understandably awkward," said Judi.
"Charles was offered a similar ‘gift’ in Berlin on the first day of his royal visit but he decided a swerve might be better than any acceptance. As the man held the paper crown aloft Charles did point to it to acknowledge it and possibly to share the gag that he would be wearing a real crown within a few weeks. But he turned the offer down with what looked like good humor, presumably not wanting to be photographed by the press holding a paper crown. He was also very quick to hand on a bunch of tulips that someone from the crowd gave him," she said.
The expert concluded they were both cautious about receiving this type of gag gift, but Charles' years of experience dealing with royal fans meant that he was more equipped to handle this interaction.
"Some of the younger royals might like to look accessible and down-to-earth enough to join in a joke like this and they might even know and have eaten a burger before, but for Camilla and Charles there’s no point pretending. Both looked wary although Charles’s experience showed in the way he did not allow himself to be ‘ambushed’ by the joke gift in any way," Judi concluded.
