King Charles and Queen Camilla appeared unbothered by Prince Harry’s concerning comments as they kicked off their first garden party of the season.
The monarch, 76, looked dapper in his grey and baby blue three-piece suit as he looked out over thousands of people who arrived for the event at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon.
Queen Camilla, 77, looked typically elegant in a rich satin blue and white lace dress, complete with a stylish wide-brimmed hat and sensible kitten heels.
The pair beamed as they walked around the picturesque gardens, chatting and greeting their many guests who were all dressed up for the elegant occasion.
The king seemed unfazed by the Duke of Sussex‘s interview with the BBC last Friday, in which he claimed that Charles ‘won’t speak to me because of this security stuff’.
Harry, 40, went to court hoping to change the decision to give him downgraded security after Megxit – however, he lost the case and claimed it was an ‘establishment stitch-up’. The ruling has prevented him from getting automatic taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK.
The father-of-two also said ‘I don’t know how long he [my father] has left,’ along with claiming that some members of the Royal Family ‘may never forgive me for writing a book,’ adding that there have been ‘many disagreements’ between himself and some members of the Firm.
Nonetheless, King Charles and Queen Camilla remained committed to their roles as senior working royals and continued carrying out their duties without responding to Harry’s emotional interview.
The monarch, 76, looked dapper in his grey and baby blue three-piece suit as he looked out over thousands of people who arrived for the event at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Anne were also in attendance on Wednesday afternoon
King Charles appeared unbothered by Prince Harry’s comments as they kicked off their first garden party of the season
The couple were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh for the event, who have upped their presence in the royal fold since Harry and Meghan left the UK for sunny Montecito.
Sophie opted for a monochrome look, wearing a black and white floral patterned frock along with a matching fascinator, whereas Edward looked smart in his three-piece suit complete with a black top hat.
Princess Anne was also in attendance, sporting a chic metallic sky blue ensemble consisting of an overcoat and sapphire blue gloves.
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles undertook a royal first on Wednesday – hopping on a hybrid Thames Clippers ‘Uber boat’ for his commute to work.
His Majesty, 76, looked delighted with the variation from his State Bentley on a sunny, although slightly gusty, day in London with the famous skyline including the Houses of Parliament behind him.
He arrived on the floating pier at Westminster with minimal fanfare, where he undertook a short meet and greet with executives accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of London, Sir Kenneth Olisa.
‘Am I going to get into the right boat? There are so many to choose from,’ Charles joked, as he walked past another full of commuters and tourists just departing.
On board the battery-powered ‘Mars Clipper’ he was introduced to employees and apprentices during his ten minute journey to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project.
The Duke of Sussex at the Royal Courts of Justice on April 8 during his appeal against a High Court ruling preventing him getting automatic taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK
Charles and Camilla beamed as they walked around the picturesque gardens, chatting and greeting their many guests who were all dressed up for the elegant occasion
The king seemed unfazed by the Duke of Sussex’s interview with the BBC last Friday, in which he claimed that Charles ‘won’t speak to me because of this security stuff’
Queen Camilla, 77, looked typically elegant in a rich satin blue and white lace dress, complete with a stylish wide-brimmed hat and sensible kitten heels
Thousands of guests gathered at Buckingham Palace for the first garden party of the season
King Charles and Queen Camilla continued carrying out their royal duties without responding to Harry’s BBC interview
On route, he learnt more about the positive impact the hybrid vessel – one of three in the fleet – has on London’s water artery.
Uber Boats serves 24 piers across the capital in 10-20 minute intervals and Thames Clippers has been heavily investing in hybrid and hydrogen-powered vessels.
‘It’s a nice way [to travel],’ said the monarch, admiringly.
‘Is this just one of a number of these vessels?’
Smoothing his hair and admiring the view as they powered along the water, the King chatted enthusiastically about the new technology that powered the fleet.
As it pulled into dock he remarked: ‘Fantastic,’ and then, spotting Sir Ken disembarking with him dressed in his full formal finery he said: ‘Take care your spurs don’t caught in that!’
The second part of his visit took him to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project – known as London’s ‘super sewer’ – at Bazalgette Embankment.
Following ten years of construction the 25km-long sewer has now been switched on to protect the River Thames and was officially opened by the king.
The new system can store the equivalent of 640 Olympic swimming pools of sewage and has already captured more than six million tonnes of storm sewage since February.
The original Victorian system was designed for a population of just four million and while still in workable condition, has struggled to cope with population growth and rainfall caused by climate change.
Accompanied by the Secretary of State for Environment, Steve Reed, Charles toured the site and viewed a live tracker displaying the tonnage of sewage taken by the tunnel.
The King undertook a royal first on Wednesday – hopping on a hybrid Thames Clippers ‘ Uber boat’ for his commute to work
His Majesty looked delighted as he had the famous skyline including the Houses of Parliament behind him
Charles was introduced to employees and apprentices during his ten minute journey to the Thames Tideway Tunnel project
Andy Mitchell, CEO of sewer builders Tideway, then invited him to unveil a plaque commemorating his visit
On the Uber boat, he learnt more about the positive impact the hybrid vessel – one of three in the fleet – has on London’s water artery
‘Are you going to finish it and then do something else?’ asked the King.
He also met with some of the 25,000-strong construction workforce who have been involved in the project, which is still ongoing.
He patted one man on the arm as he told him his family was back in India. ‘They are all well, I hope? he asked.
‘Have you got the crane?’ he asked another.
The King also walked through a ‘mini park’ planted for the local community and visitors including 71 trees and 3,000 plants.
Standing by several giant ventilation funnels for the sewer inscribed with poetry, Charles viewed the vista admiringly.
Andy Mitchell, CEO of sewer builders Tideway, then invited him to unveil a plaque commemorating his visit.
He said: ‘It’s taken over ten years of work from an awful lot of people to get where we are now. It’s a huge feat of engineering, something we are very proud of. We have created a lot jobs, new spaces and a cleaner river along the way. We hope what we have done here will show to others what can be done.’
He also met with some of the 25,000-strong construction workforce who have been involved in the project, which is still ongoing
King Charles appeared to be in high spirits as he visited the eco-friendly project on Wednesday
Afterwards he added: ‘The king was fascinated with detail and the quality of the space, as well as the humanity of it with all the planting. The team were absolutely thrilled with his comments on the quality of the work here. In an average year there are 40 million tonnes [of sewage] and we will be preventing the vast majority of that from going into the river.’
Charles greeted poet Dorothea Smartt, whose poetry about the Thames is printed on the ventilation columns on the new tunnel.
The King is known for his love of nature and passion for bringing about conversations about climate change, first speaking about the dangerous effects of plastic pollution on the environment when he was 21 years old in 1970.
In 2023, he famously said that the ‘world does not belong to us’ at Cop28 in Dubai, adding that his grandchildren, Prince Louis, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie would be living with the effects of our warming planet.
Tideway say that everyone it rains, its high-tech computers calculate how much sewage is filling the tunnel network instead of spilling into the river.
This month, the new super sewer was connected to the Lee Tunnel, which has been operation since 2016 and runs from Stratford to East Ham, completing the full London Tideway Tunnel network.
The new tunnel will protect the Thames from sewage pollution, with Tideway data showing that a whopping 6,790,231 cubic meters of dirty water has been diverted away from the river since August 2024.
The King also walked through a ‘mini park’ planted for the local community and visitors including 71 trees and 3,000 plants
Charles greeted poet Dorothea Smartt, whose poetry about the Thames is printed on the ventilation columns on the new tunnel
King Charles also watched a video explaining how the new Tideway Thames tunnel works
The monarch beamed as he spoke with Sir David Attenborough while the pair posed for pictures together on Tuesday evening
This visit comes after Charles attended the world premiere of Sir David Attenborough‘s new documentary – Ocean – on Tuesday evening.
The royal, 76, was suited and booted for the special event and looked dapper in his black tux as he stepped out at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Charles was seen greeting people and waving at wellwishers as he made his way down the blue carpet.
The monarch also beamed as he spoke with Sir David while the pair posed for pictures together.
The legendary environmental broadcaster, 98, has his latest documentary which releases on his 99th birthday on Thursday.
The King and Sir David are thought to have a close relationship, as the presenter was also good friends with his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth.
