King Charles III and and wife Camilla, the queen consort, were the targets Wednesday of an egg-throwing protester in York, where they were meeting with local dignitaries amid well-wishers during a traditional visit.
The eggs wound up smashing on the ground, not on the royals, and the 23-year-old man who allegedly hurled them was detained by police. While officers struggled to bring the man to the ground near a crowd barrier, he shouted, “This country was built on the blood of slaves,” according to the Associated Press.
The eggs appeared to fly between Charles and Camilla and the people they were meeting, according to ITV video. The ceremony continued with hardly a hitch.
Charles — who continued shaking hands with York officials, the BBC reported, paused briefly to look down at the shattered eggs. He and Camilla were visiting York to witness the first unveiling of a statue of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, since her death in early September at age 96.