Charles keeps calm and carries on
King's courage in the face of protesters shows he is the consummate professional
Happy Valentine’s Day to all who celebrate!
More on royal romance in a moment but I wanted to start with this rather striking image from the King and Queen’s day out in the north east yesterday.
It takes courage to face down a crowd of protesters, keep calm and carry on shaking hands, all with a genuine smile on your face.
But proving he’s a consummate professional, that’s exactly what King Charles did on a walkabout in Middlesbrough’s town centre.
When a small group of demonstrators bearing bright yellow “Not my King” placards turned up among the crowds waiting to greet the monarch, he could have been forgiven for heading swiftly in the opposite direction.
But at the end of a busy day of engagements, Charles instead chose to head straight towards them, making time to chat to the well-wishers standing just in front, who had waited in bitterly cold temperatures to greet him.
I’ve written about this before but it’s hard to imagine such a scene unfolding during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, when a protest in her presence would have been unthinkable.
Her son, however, seems to take it all in his stride.
I’m told the King is not remotely troubled by the protesters, but what does bother him is the possibility they might spoil the event for others.
“He doesn’t want people who are kind enough to turn out to feel that they’re going to miss their turn because of a minority of protesters behind them,” one courtier tells me.
And turn out they did this week, in their many thousands.