King Charles Makes Joke at His Own Expense About His Infamous Fountain Pen Fail Last Year

King Charles keeps a sense of humor about his public foibles. As he dined at Mansion House on Thursday, 74-year-old King called attention to his viral mishap with a pen last September, PEOPLE reported. The event was held to honor the City of London’s civic institutions and Livery Companies as well as the city’s ancient and modern guilds and traditions dating back to 1689 when the new monarch visited the area for the first time.

During his speech, King Charles was accompanied by Queen Camilla, and he spoke to the guests about the fact that the U.K. is a “community of communities” and how modern-day challenges such as artificial intelligence and climate change will influence today’s “watershed age.” 

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A bright spot was when the sovereign called the British people’s sense of humor a way to draw strength before shifting focus to his previous issues with a pen! “The cherished well from which the sound of laughter can be heard — the healing well filled with a sense of humor laced with an invigorating dash of self-irony. This well flows liberally into all the others. The British sense of humor is world-renowned,” the King said.

“It is not what we do. It is who we are. Our ability to laugh at ourselves is one of our great national characteristics. Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year!” he continued, drawing laughter from the crowd.

A video showing King Charles struggling with a leaking pen during a signing ceremony at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, days after his accession in September 2022, went viral. ABC News shared a video showing the King passing the dripping writing utensil to Queen Camilla and then realizing ink had gotten on his hands. “I can’t bear this bloody thing! Every stinking time,” he said to an aide while he and his wife tried to clean up the mess left behind.

Two days after Queen Elizabeth’s death, Charles was similarly impatient at the Accession Council’s all-important proclamation of his kingship in London, faced with a desk crowded with an inkpot and a pen box. After giving an irritated wave, his equerry Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Thompson cleared the path for the symbolic signing to proceed.

Despite being annoyed in both instances, King Charles has since brought some lightheartedness to his royal duties. While signing a visitor’s book with Queen Camilla, 76, in Dunfermline, Scotland, he quietly joked about unpredictable pens.  According to a clip shared on X by Daily Mail, the King signed and handed over the pen to his wife, adding, “These things are so temperamental.”