King Charles III was left royally soaked — and his patience appeared to dry up faster than his suit.
The British monarch was caught without an umbrella as the skies opened on Nov. 1 during a celebration at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium marking Antigua and Barbuda’s 45th anniversary of independence. Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, were attending the parade during their royal tour of the Caribbean when the weather took a sudden turn.
As heavy rain pelted the royal couple, Camilla was quickly handed an umbrella and hurried toward shelter. Charles, however, was left exposed to the elements, getting more drenched by the second and appearing increasingly exasperated.
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After spotting his wife walking away beneath an umbrella, the 77-year-old threw his hands into the air and repeatedly waved at royal aides, apparently calling for an umbrella of his own as rain soaked his suit.
Help eventually arrived, but not before Charles was drenched. By the time an aide handed him an umbrella, the king was already soaking wet.
“King Charles has historically had a short fuse,” royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News Digital. “What we see is that when he is under immense pressure and something seemingly small goes awry, like the pen incident, he loses his cool. In the situation with the umbrella, King Charles had every right to be annoyed with his aides. He’s in his late 70s, living with cancer; his wife was immediately handed an umbrella; this was a downpour, not a light drizzle.”
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“One of the reasons Charles and Camilla work is that she balances him out,” Constant said. “She can laugh it off, share a funny aside; she has the ability to let things roll off her shoulders in a way Charles never has. Charles and Camilla function much more like a unit, particularly because Camilla never tries to compete for the limelight.”
Camilla couldn’t hold back her laughter when she rejoined her husband on the dais after the rain eased. The couple chuckled at the mishap. “I’ve started growing watercress on my trousers,” Charles joked, according to the Evening Standard.
“The umbrella incident was in stark contrast to the public composure, restraint and emotional discipline demonstrated by Queen Elizabeth,” British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “Yet ‘all’s well that ends well’ as the giggles King Charles and Queen Camilla displayed after the rain saved the day.”
“The humor King Charles displayed at the moment, without any advice or counsel from courtiers, was immensely significant as it demonstrated he can handle challenges with grace, dignity and deflect with humor,” she said.
But Constant said the soaking threatened more than Charles’ carefully tailored suit.
“There’s a lot of consideration as to what his legacy will look like,” she said. “He certainly doesn’t want images of him looking like a drowned rat in the archives, especially when there are large discussions happening about the future of the Commonwealth. Image is everything. This situation should never have happened.”
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Fordwich said the mishap became known as “Brolly-gate” in the U.K. “Brolly” is a common informal term for an umbrella.
“Queen Elizabeth II maintained a firmer distinction between her private reactions and her public responsibilities,” Fordwich said, referring to the king’s late mother.
“She was from the generation which placed emphasis on public reserve. The immediacy of modern social media means unexpected incidents like this rocket around the world in minutes. The king is more visibly expressive, at times impatient, occasionally humorous and way more willing to let audiences see his immediate reactions than his mother.”
Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” previously told Fox News Digital that sources had described Charles as having a short fuse in his younger years.
“He’s very moody, very temperamental,” Andersen said. “He has a volcanic temper. Camilla has always been a calming influence, and since he became king, Charles has mellowed considerably. That doesn’t mean he’s lost his edge entirely, by any means. When he is displeased by something, he lets his staff know it in no uncertain terms. They feel the royal heat.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital they don’t comment on books.
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Following his mother’s death in September 2022, Charles appeared frustrated with a leaking pen during a visit to Northern Ireland. He told an aide, “I can’t bear this bloody thing! Every stinking time.” A pen was quickly handed to Camilla to complete the signing during the royal ceremony.
Fordwich said the king’s reaction to the downpour contrasted with the late queen’s reputation for maintaining her public composure. Constant agreed.
“Queen Elizabeth was much better at embodying the ‘keep calm, carry on’ tradition, especially in public,” she said. “That was never going to be Charles. These moments stand out because they are in such stark contrast to Queen Elizabeth. King Charles is very aware that he is viewed as a transitional monarch, and he wants to leave his mark.”
Royal experts agreed Charles has been navigating mounting pressure, as the Caribbean tour unfolded amid renewed calls from regional leaders for the U.K. to address slavery reparations.
On Nov. 3, the king called the transatlantic slave trade a “shameful chapter of history” during a speech at the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda. While Charles said it “still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth,” he did not apologize, The Associated Press reported.
According to The Associated Press, Charles said he was seeking ways to address past wrongs by improving access to education, investing in jobs, encouraging intra-Commonwealth trade and promoting climate resilience.
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“We are so used to perfection that the media salivates over leaky pens,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital about the umbrella mishap.
“The thunderstorm, of course, should have been anticipated,” he said. “And given that King Charles is fighting cancer, no wonder he needed an umbrella. Queen Camilla realized her umbrella was not large enough to cover the king as well and duly behaved with dignity. Afterward, they both laughed about it, which is very British. Neither would have thought it funny at the time and small wonder. It’s unlikely to be repeated.”
The soggy snafu drew international headlines, but Charles refused to let it rain on his parade.
During a dinner he and Camilla hosted for Commonwealth leaders, Charles joked about the varied climates across the organization’s 56 member countries.
“It is one of the few organizations able to unite countries famous for snow, countries famous for deserts, and, most of all, countries whose citizens are utterly convinced they enjoy perfect weather all year round,” he said, according to People magazine.
“Although perhaps part of my role as Head of the Commonwealth is to provide an umbrella for you all!” he added with a smile.
