King Charles III told staff "I can’t bear this bloody thing" after a pen he was using to sign a book appeared to have leaked - and fans are defending the grieving 73-year-old.
In a video, the new monarch struggled with a leaking pen while signing the visitor's book at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday (September 13).
In the clip, the King asked what the date was, having originally signed the wrong one. He then attempted to give the pen to Camilla, the 75-year-old Queen Consort, before realizing it had dribbled onto his hands.
At this point, he lost his temper with the offending tool as he tells an employee: "I can't bear this bloody thing! Every stinking time." He and Camilla were then seen attempting to clean their hands of the ink.
Watch the video below:The incident generated comments on social media, with users defending King Charles and highlighting that he just lost his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and is "exhausted physically and emotionally".
Peter Ford, an entertainment reporter from Australia, wrote: "Hope this doesn’t become 'a thing' for people to keep looking out for. He must be so exhausted physically and emotionally plus performing duties and dealing with his own private loss. He’s still human!"
Richard Eden, a writer for the Daily Mail, commented: "I suspect I would be a bit short-tempered, too, if I was taking on the biggest job of my life, with precious little sleep, in the week my mother died."
A third user also chimed in and said: "I can’t believe anybody is shocked (or pretending to be) that a 73-year-old man who’s just lost his mother - and hasn’t been given a minute to grieve privately - might feel a little irritable and impatient at times. People seriously need to get a grip."
This moment comes just days after His Majesty had another small hiccup with a pen during the Accession Council when made his official proclamation in the State Apartments of St. James's Palace in London on Saturday (September 10).
His Majesty approached to sign the Accession Proclamation and appeared irritated when he saw the pen box and the inkpot on the small desk - which also had to fit the documents.
The king fluttered his hand at the aide repeatedly to extract the ink well on the table and clear the desk. Once the documents were placed, Charles once again asked the staff to also remove the pen box from the desk - giving him room to sign the large document.
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