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As the 'irritated King Charles' video goes viral, here is a look at the weirdest things he has done

Shaurya ThapaSeptember 12, 2022 | 14:01 IST

It would still take time for people’s tongues to be adjusted to the words “King Charles” as the 73-year-old former Prince has finally got his shot at the Crown. While the Internet loves trolling every member of the Royal Family, the public seem to have a meme-able fascination with King Charles III and his eccentric antics in particular. 

The viral  “irritated Charles” video: Currently, a video from Charles’s accession ceremony has gone viral for the wrong reasons. As he signs a proclamation, the newly-crowned monarch furiously signals the royal aides to remove a tray of pens and inkpot crowding his desk. The irritability on the monarch’s face and his clenched teeth have caused many to condemn the privileges and entitlement of the royals. 

One tweet reads, “Imagine respecting anyone who treats another human being like this” while others point out how this is “a glimpse of the real Charles”. 

At the same time, some of the Twitterati believe that while Charles was clearly being rude, the clip is being blown out of proportion as there have been worst cases of disrespectful behaviour from elites. 

Charles needs someone to squeeze his toothpaste! 

When King Charles wakes up every morning, his pyjamas and even shoelaces are pressed with an iron. The bathtub's water level is supposed to be exact every day the temperature has to be particularly lukewarm. While such behaviour is expected from any royal, the 73-year-old man even needs a valet to squeeze out one inch of toothpaste on his toothbrush every single day!

[Charles] has his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning. -Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell (photo-DailyO)

While this was thought off as a rumour initially, Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell said that there is indeed truth in this statement while speaking in the 2015 documentary Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm

Tampongate: Charles wanted to get into Camilla's pants...quite literally

One of the worst-kept secrets of the Royal Family was Prince Charles's extramarital affair with his now-wife and present Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles. After Charles and Diana Spencer formally announced a seperation in 1992, the transcript of a phone call between Charles and Camilla from 1989 leaked to the media. With the whole incident being referred to as "Camillagate", the transcipt revealed some rather awkward and bizzarely erotic details in the secret relationship. 

Charles started off with the usual banter of how he "cannot live without her" but then progressed towards getting into her pants. 

"What about me? The problem is that I need you all week, all the time. My God, if I could live in your pants, it would be so much easier!"
- King Charles III to Camilla Parker Bowles (1989)

Camilla jokingly replied asking him if he would turn into her "knickers". And then, came the iconic answer from Charles, "into a tampon. That would be nice!".

Charles forgot to kiss Diana on their wedding 

Hours before the wedding, Diana Spencer had decided to call it quits as she had started getting hints of Charles's affair with Camilla. However, she eventually mustered her courage for what was to be an awkward wedding. According to royal sources and several biographers of Diana, her royal husband forgot to kiss her after following their wedding vows. 

King Charles forgetting to kiss Diana at the altar was just the beginning of their awkward married life. (meme-DailyO)

Diana was naturally taken aback and Charles later kissed her when the couple appeared in the Buckingham Palace's balcony (this time too Charles took the step only when he was urged by the public). Kissing in the Buckingham balcony instead of the wedding altar has now become tradition for all royal weddings ever since!

Charles offered Scotch as a "get well soon" gift to Ozzy Osbourne, a recovering alcoholic

British heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne is known for his drunken antics and on-stage behaviour that even includes eating live bats! Hence, it is very unlikely for Ozzy and Charles to be friends in the first place! But apparently, they did share some sort of acquaintance as Charles was thoughtful enough to give him a "get well soon" gift to the Black Sabbath lead singer when he was recovering from a bike crash in 2004. 

A comparison between Charles and Ozzy Osbourne is actually used in business schools to understand customer behaviour! (photo- Evolution Partners on LinkedIn)

The only problem was that the gift was a bottle of Scotch and Osbourne was a recovering alcoholic at that time. The gift felt so tonedeaf that Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne seized the bottle! Ozzy's alcoholism was so bad that in the 80s, the singer that he could have almost killed his wife in a fit of drunkenness. 

A Royal racist?

Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle caused much controversy in early 2021. Even though the couple had not taken any names in particular, Meghan added that there were certain members in the Royal Family who were judgmental of her skin tone. A particular royal, she alleged, even wondered what their baby's complexion would be like. 

Christopher Andersen, a royal correspondent who has covered the affairs of the Crown for over five decades, penned a 2021 book Brothers and Wives: Inside the Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan in which he alleged that it was indeed Charles who had passed the comment. Charles can be heard asking Camilla, "What do you think the complexion of their children will be like?", at least according to Andersen's book. The spokespersons for the Royal Family have, of course, denied these claims. 

In the end, the newly-crowned King has always been a controversial figure especially in the presence of his late wife Diana Spencer who continues to be a beloved pop culture icon till date. With the viral video from his coronation, Charles (and particularly his PR team) must pull up his socks to become a more well-received face of the Crown. 

Last updated: September 12, 2022 | 14:07
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