King Charles III has been king for only a few days, and he’s already getting negative publicity thanks to a video of him insistently gesturing to his aides that went viral over the weekend.
One of the clips comes courtesy of the parody Twitter account Laura Kuenssberg Translator, and as of Monday, it has close to 26 million views. In it, Charles gestures for a staff member to remove some items from his desk before he sits down. The caption says, “The servant must clear my desk for me. I can’t be expected to move things.”
"The servant must clear my desk for me. I can't be expected to move things." pic.twitter.com/0pZqY2Xopq
— Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@BBCLauraKT) September 10, 2022
“Sympathy won’t last long with this sort of behaviour…” one person wrote in reply.
“With all his wealth, he could already afford some manners,” another agreed.
“The new King of England showing us who he really is,” another said.
The clip drew as much ire as another snippet from the same day. King Charles had run out of room on his tiny desk and made an impatient face while gesturing for an aide standing by to move some items out of his way.
While signing an oath at the Accession Council, King Charles III ran out of room and gestured for an aide to help make some space on the desk. https://t.co/zRfXNO1crQ pic.twitter.com/Fl5Ge24EZY
— ABC News (@ABC) September 10, 2022
Twitter viewers were not amused by these antics and expressed displeasure in their replies.
“That’s what growing up privileged does to you. That’s why they only want people that live the same way around them. They only are nice to common folk when the cameras are around. The common folk are just that to them,” one person replied.
“He didn’t just gesture. He was rude. This says a lot about him and not in a good way,” one person shared.
However, King Charles had plenty of defenders who insisted it was well within his rights to expect the staffers to perform their job functions.
“People moaning about this need to get a life. I’m a republican but I can see here a bereaved, bit stressed, man trying to get something done,” one person said. “I’m sure the assistant was more than understanding. The face is just one of… ‘aaaargh, sort this out will ya’, that’s all.”