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King Charles was caught in a sudden downpour during a royal visit to Antigua and Barbuda’s 45th independence anniversary celebrations on Sunday, November 1. Camilla quickly received a clear umbrella and headed for shelter. Charles, however, was left standing in the rain. He looked annoyed and kept gesturing toward his aides. 

According to The Standard, he repeatedly asked, “Where’s the umbrella?” An aide eventually brought him one. Charles then used it while inspecting the troops. The event was held at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium during their Caribbean tour. Heavy rain hit the stadium shortly after they arrived. 

The rain lasted around five minutes before clearing. Camilla later joined him on the dais. Charles also made a joke about his soaked clothes. According to the same outlet, he told guests, “I’ve started growing watercress on my trousers.” Charles also joked with Prime Minister Gaston Browne. 

“I think I’m about to grow watercress on my suit,” he said. This wasn’t the first time he showed frustration at a public event. Back in September 2022, Charles became frustrated with a leaking pen during a signing ceremony at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland. 

He was signing a visitors’ book when ink spilled onto his fingers. He handed the pen to Camilla, who noticed it. According to The Guardian, she said, “Oh look, it’s going everywhere.” Charles wasn’t happy either. “I can’t bear this bloody thing … every stinking time,” he complained. An aide stepped in to clean the pen while Charles wiped his fingers. 

There was another pen-related incident four days earlier. During the Accession Council at St. James’s Palace, Charles gestured repeatedly for aides to remove an ornate pen holder from his desk. It was getting in his way while he signed the proclamation. 

The recent visit came as several Caribbean countries renewed calls for slavery reparations. Charles and Camilla are in the region for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The couple is due to leave Antigua and Barbuda on November 4. Charles also addressed Britain’s history during a youth rally in The Bahamas on October 27. 

According to the Royal Family’s published speech, Charles said, “Some of what is best in Bahamian culture today, the most joyful, the most hopeful, the most bright, was born out of darkness.” He also acknowledged the suffering caused by slavery.

“It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past in these islands and beyond,” he said. Former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan has also weighed in. According to People, she called Charles a “deft student of history.” 

She believes he could “do something that is meaningful and not just make an elegant speech.” She wants efforts that aren’t “reparations but are more than a speech that acknowledges the pain of the past.” However, Charles cannot make policy decisions himself. 

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