King Charles turns soggy stadium visit into a Commonwealth dinner joke
King Charles has made light of his rain-soaked visit to a cricket ground in Antigua and Barbuda, using it as the punchline of a speech at a Commonwealth leaders' dinner. Speaking to guests, he said: "Although perhaps part of my role as Head of the Commonwealth is to provide an umbrella for you all." The King is the ceremonial figurehead of the Commonwealth, the association of countries that were mostly once part of the British Empire.
The joke refers to an incident on Monday at the Sir Vivian Richards cricket stadium, where a sudden downpour soaked the royal party. Hello Magazine reports that the King repeatedly asked "Where's the umbrella?" while throwing up his arms. Queen Camilla was handed a clear umbrella for shelter, while the King stood in the rain as his team looked for one for him.
Footage of the moment was widely shared online, and the Times and ITV News both described it as viral. ITV News said the umbrella joke came in the final speech of the King's Caribbean tour. The dinner was a black-tie event, according to The Times.
Reuters reported earlier in the week that the King was eventually given an umbrella after standing in the rain. The same report said he had joked about the experience with Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister, Gaston Browne. The King's comments at the dinner followed that exchange.
Hello Magazine reports that the speech drew laughter and applause in the dining hall. The King also said he had "grown watercress on my trousers" after getting wet. He then turned to the dinner guests' own roles, joking: "It has been a great pleasure to meet so many prime ministers, almost as many as I've had at home."
The line about prime ministers is a nod to the King's weekly audiences with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a standing meeting at Buckingham Palace. The King used the word "home" to mean the UK, a reference the room appeared to pick up on.
The speech was delivered in Antigua and Barbuda, and the footage that sparked it has been seen far beyond the Caribbean. Whether the umbrella becomes a lasting part of the royal story is not yet clear. For now, the most-shared version of the visit is a King standing in the rain, and a speech that turned it into a laugh.
