The King has been visiting Oxford today, where he stopped by a company specialising in solar panels – but one aspect of the visit did not run smoothly
The King during a visit to Oxford Photovoltaics today(Image: Getty Images)
The King was left in fits of giggles after suffering an awkward blunder during a royal visit. Charles has been visiting Oxford today, where he stopped by Oxford Photovoltaics, a company specialising in solar panels that create clean, affordable energy.
Like on most royal engagements to similar firms, he was given a tour around the premises, where he met staff and learned about their special solar panels that are capable of converting more of the sun’s spectrum into energy. And as is customary to commemorate a royal visit, the King was invited by the company to do something he has done countless times before – unveil a plaque.
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Charles unveils the plaque(Image: PA)
The plaque the King unveils falls to the floor (Image: AP)
However, as he pulled back the silk sheet covering the plaque, which stood on a wooden stand, it accidentally went crashing to the floor.
It prompted a man from the Firm to rush in to pick it up and place to back where it belonged. Fortunately, Charles and staff from Oxford PV saw the funny side of the blunder and were all pictured laughing.
It is the second time this week that the King has got the giggles while on engagements. On Tuesday, he and Queen Camilla visited Cornwall, where they burst out laughing while struggling to cut a cake during a visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the Eden Project.
The fallen plaque is picked up from the floor (Image: PA)
The King after the plaque was put back in the right place(Image: PA)
Charles and Camilla were armed with a sword as they tried to slice a street party-themed Victoria sponge after touring parts of the Cornish ecological centre that opened on March 17, 2001.
There was also laughter when they first arrived at the landmark Millennium initiative that transformed a clay pit with massive geodesic biomes featuring plant life from around the world to highlight humanity’s reliance on nature.
The King looks around the Oxford PV premises(Image: Getty Images)
The King’s state limousine made a wrong turn on the sprawling site and disappeared before doubling back, and Charles quipped as he stepped from the vehicle: “Now you see us, now you don’t.”
It comes as Prince William once remarked how the royals actually ‘love it’ when things go wrong on royal engagements, specifically his late grandmother and grandfather, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Paying tribute to Philip after his death in 2021, he told a BBC documentary: “My grandfather loved things when they go wrong.
“Both my grandparents love that because you can imagine, they’ve lived a life where everything has to go right the whole time and so when things go wrong, they both chuckle an awful lot. Everyone else gets mortally embarrassed. They love it.”
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