King Charles III Is Already In Hot Water After Testily Forcing A Staffer To Clean His Desk

Last week, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at 96. The news prompted widespread tributes, but it also inspired others to point out the darker sides of the Royal Family and of the aristocracy in general. It didn’t take long for Elizabeth’s successor, her son Charles, now king, to casually do something that shows how out-of-touch they are with the public.

Over the weekend, a brief video of King Charles III circulated through social media, showing him testily commanding a staff member to clean up a few pens and other detritus on a desk at which he was about to sit and sign documents. He didn’t appear to say anything; he simply swatted his hands until the space was empty. There was no apparent malice. It seemed like the kind of thing he does all the time.

That’s exactly what prompted such an online backlash. The Twitter parody account Laura Kuenssberg Translator, which shared the video on Saturday, captioned the post, “The servant must clear my desk for me. I can’t be expected to move things.”

Another poster wrote, “This is the real Charles you can’t hide who you are this is how he’s been treating the servants for years with such little respect. Fanning his finger to clean the desk off and move the object. Showing your real Arrogance you will fail it’s in the cards.”

The late Queen Elizabeth II’s public image was famously meticulously controlled, and Charles is no different. But every now and then something unflattering slips through the cracks. Surely this moment, however minor yet quietly damning, will make for a great bit in a future episode of that incredibly popular Netflix show that airs all the Royals’ dirty laundry.

(Via Newsweek)