Man ‘throws eggs at King Charles and Queen Consort in York’

The protester who was arrested by police today for throwing eggs at King Charles and the Queen Consort in York is an Extinction Rebellion activist who once stood as a Green Party candidate, MailOnline can reveal. 

Patrick Thelwell was bundled to the ground by four police officers while screaming ‘this country was built on the blood of slaves’. Meanwhile, onlookers shouted ‘God save the King’ and ‘shame on you’.

Footage shows four eggs flying past His Majesty and breaking on the ground beside him as he was greeted by city leaders. Charles briefly looked around to see the broken eggs, but otherwise barely reacted. 

In an online biography, Thelwell boasts of his long involvement in Left-wing politics, which began in 2015 when he campaigned to oust Tory MP Esther McVey from her seat on Merseyside due to her views on benefits.    

He has been president of the University of York gardening society and, on a blog where he regularly writes about climate change, says he is preparing to study for a PhD in Interdisciplinary Global Development. 

Thelwell stood as a Green Party candidate in the 2019 local elections for the Hull Road Ward in York, which is now controlled by Labour. 

He previously expressed republican sentiments, tweeting that he would ‘not bow to the new false King’ when the Queen died. 

He has previously joined protests blocking London Bridge and a road leading to newspaper printing presses. Then PM Boris Johnson called the stunt ‘completely unacceptable’.  

The royal couple were greeted by a line-up of local dignitaries lead by the Lord Mayor and local musician in historic dress known as The York Waits.

But as the king and queen moved down the queue shaking hands, a single loud boo could be heard coming from from the pavement ahead of them and two eggs sailed over the heads of the dignitaries and landed by Charles’ foot. He could be seen looking quizzically at the floor.

Another flew close to the head one of the council representatives who turned and exclaimed angrily. It appears four eggs were thrown in all.

Plain-clothed royalty protection and uniformed local police swiftly moved in and identified the culprit but struggled to contain him at first as the crowds were packed so tight. ‘We’ve got him,’ one yelled out. 

Today, North Yorkshire Police confirmed a 23-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. 

Scroll down for videos.  

North Yorkshire Police said a ‘well-rehearsed’ security operation had been in place for the visit to ensure the royal couple’s safety.

Charlotte Bloxham, the force’s silver commander for the operation, said: ‘I’m pleased to report that the policing operation and the overall wider visit was successful today.

‘An enormous amount of planning and preparation goes into visits of this nature. I would like to thank all the officers and staff that supported today’s operation.

‘Many partner agencies also assisted us with the planning and execution, and I would also like to extend my thanks to them.

‘On behalf of the force, it was a privilege for North Yorkshire Police to welcome the King and Queen Consort to North Yorkshire.’ 

Officers begged other members of the crowd to moved to one side so that they could restrain the man, who could be heard shouting: ‘This country was built on the blood of slaves.’

A woman could be heard screaming repeatedly at the top of her voice but it is not clear whether she was with him or a horrified member of the public.

He faced a hostile reaction from the rest of the crowd, some of who shouted ‘shame on you’ and ‘God save The King’ at the top of their voices to drown the protestor out.

Others yelled ‘hip hip hooray’ repeatedly and one shouted: ‘You’ve literally spoilt this for everybody’ and the man was finally pushed to the floor and handcuffed.

He was repeatedly booed as he was finally carried away by uniformed officers.

Meanwhile The King and Queen Consort carried on unperturbed, taking part in an historic ceremony.

Micklegate Bar was the most important of York’s four medieval gateways and is the focus for grand events.

By tradition, reigning monarchs pass through the gate when visiting York and have to stop to ask the Lord Mayor’s permission to enter. The ceremony was last carried out when the late Queen visited in 2012.

Charles was invited to approach bearers holding a sword and a mace and touch then sword symbolically. Both then turned away allowing him to enter through the gateway.

The Town Clerk read out a ‘declaration of welcome’ – which included a reference to the sadness at the loss of Queen Elizabeth II and an acclamation at his accession – before the couple embarked on a meet and greet with the crowds, undeterred by the incident unfolding a few yards away.

At the front of the crowd was little Jason Tweedie-Long, five, who has a serious visual impairment known as nystagmus.

His grandmother, Wendy Loveday, explained that the family were huge royalists and Jason had been bitterly disappointed that the late Queen died on his second day at primary school.

‘He was very sad that he didn’t get to meet her. We are really royalists so when he heard that the king would be coming to York he said he would like to see him, but we knew because of his sight that it would be impossible for him to see from the crowd. 

‘So we decided to talk to those in positions of power and we wrote to the city council who spoke to Buckingham Palace. And here we are.’

Jason and his grandmother were given a special position in a press position along with a press pass.

He said he was ‘really, really, really excited’ to be able to see the king.

Mrs Loveday said: ‘Well I love The King and its right that he is here with his Queen at his side. 

‘It’s only possible to rule when you have the person you love at your side. York is a royal city and we are honoured that they are here. We loved the Queen and will love them too.’

Much to their delight, when a kindly palace press officer pulled Jason from the crowd in order that he could see the royal visitors better, not only did they stop to say hello but they took one of his hands each and took him on a little of the walkabout with them.

Mrs Loveday said afterwards: ‘It made our day. How kind of them. We will never forget this.’

She added of the protestor: ‘There’s always one idiot, isn’t there? One amongst thousands and thousands of people. It won’t spoil it for us.’

The couple then drove by car to the Gothic splendour of York Minster, the city’s stunning cathedral and place of worship for more than 1,000 years, heralded by the minster bells.

After being welcomed by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, and given posies by the children from the cathedral’s ‘Minster Mice’, they went in for a service of prayer and to meet community heroes.

The main reason for the couple’s visit was to unveil a seven-foot-tall statue of Queen Elizabeth II, designed and carved by cathedral stonemason Richard Bossons, which was originally commissioned to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

The statue, which has been kept strictly under wraps until the unveiling ceremony, depicts a ‘mature’ Queen dressed in her Order of the Garter Robes and wearing the George IV diadem traditionally used for the State Opening of Parliament

The statue is situated 25 foot up on the Minster’s West Front hidden by a screen and today had a purple silk drape over it. 

Despite the heavens opening, Their Majesties went ahead with the ceremony, with Charles telling the crowds that he he and his wife were ‘deeply touched’ to be asked to unveil the statue.

He said: ‘When this statue was first planned five years ago, during a reign of unprecedented duration and achievement, it was intended as a celebration of the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Now, as we have witnessed, with great sadness, the passing of that reign, it is unveiled in her memory, as a tribute to a life of extraordinary service and devotion.

‘The creation of this statue is also, if I may say so, a tribute to the support, affection and prayers that the community of this cathedral, and of this great city, always gave the late Queen, and all for which she stood in the life of the nation and the Commonwealth.

‘The late Queen was always vigilant for the welfare of her people during her life. Now, her image will watch over what will become Queen Elizabeth Square, for centuries to come – a constant example of the duty and care for others, and for our community, which is the calling and the duty we all share.’

Although his words were hard to hear over the inclement weather – with the crowds stretching all the way round the square and ten to twelves deep in places – the people gathered erupted in a cheers and applause,

Among them was Hannah Morley, 40, from York, who said afterwards: ‘We have waited here for hours to catch a glimpse and we actually got to speak to The King. I can’t quite believe it. ‘

She added of the earlier incident: ‘Such a shame that one idiot tried to spoil today. People are different, we understand that. But if you don’t like the Royal Family then just stay away, There are a lot of people here who this means a lot to. ‘

Speaking after the ceremony, the Archbishop of York said: ‘It is particularly moving for us that the statue was commissioned to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Of course, with the Queen’s death, it has added meaning and poignancy as it stands here to remember and celebrate the whole of her life and reign, all that she meant not just to our nation but to the Commonwealth and the world. 

‘We are deeply honoured that the king, just a few weeks into his reign, has chosen to come here to unveil the statue. We did a bit of a double-act: he unveiled the statue and I bless the statue, and of course The Lord provided a heavenly sprinkling from above. What could be better?’

As for the egg throwing he added: ‘I wouldn’t even call it an incident. There’s always a few, we know there’s a few…the people who are out here in the strength is what’s important. The statue is magnificent. It’s part of the fabric of the Minster and will be for centuries to come.’

Stonemason Richard Bossons revealed it was the first time he had ever attempted portraiture.

He said: ‘To have the King here was a huge unexpected bonus. It is made from French limestones, just because we could get the size of block required. I know depicting the Queen over the years has been a bit hit and miss. And it’s a difficult one to pitch. 

‘I wanted to get a sense of her longevity on the throne over 70 years, but a more mature upright figure, so I have softened her features over the process. She is orientated to look down Duncan Place which is the main approach to York Minster so you can see her as you walk up. 

‘Start to finish it was 15 months non-stop. I spoke to King Charles which was particularly wonderful for me as he has been such an advocate for traditional arts and crafts over the years. It was a very special moment to see him unveil the statue, it hasn’t really sunk in yet.

Later, the King and Queen brushed off the incident and embarked on a six-minute walkabout shaking hands with locals who waited for two and half hours in Doncaster.

The King also hailed the ‘warmth of the welcome’ they have received in Yorkshire – despite the lone egg protest 50 miles away in York. 

The royal couple attracted several hundred people crammed onto the High Street for a ceremony to confer city status on Doncaster.

They were due to walk straight up the steps for a reception inside Mansion House but buoyed by massive cheers they turned around and went to meet flag-waving locals instead.

Both looked happy and relaxed and flanked by three burly security guards after the York incident.

Around 24 police officers were in the High Street and security was also milling around the crowd.

A drone had hovered earlier overhead.

Chuckle Brother and Doncaster favourite Paul Chuckle, 75, real name Paul Elliott, was also in the crowd but did not speak with the King and Queen.

But the pair spent around six minutes greeting locals and the King was overheard saying ‘thank you so much for coming’.

There were cries of ‘welcome to Doncaster’.

Charlie Dykes, 19, spoke to the King and said afterwards: ‘It was fun as he spotted that we were wearing very similar coats.’

Tammy Houghton, 50, said: ‘He said ‘I hope you have not been standing here too long’. I told him I’ve been here for two and half hours.’

Others had waited for the royal visit for around three hours.

Inside Mansion House, Charles delivered a speech to celebrate Doncaster’s city status.

He also spent time chatting to Doncaster resident Ben Parkinson, the hero paratrooper who was Britain’s most severely wounded soldier to survive the Afghanistan conflict.

The King gave Ben his MBE in 2013 which he was proudly wearing at the reception yesterday.

Ben, 38, said afterwards: ‘They threw an egg in York? It’s wrong. You don’t do that. What a waste of an egg. We wouldn’t do that in Doncaster.’

Despite the egg protest in York, the King hailed his welcome during the two-day visit to Yorkshire.

In a speech inside the Mansion House, he said: ‘My wife and I are so delighted to be with you in Doncaster today as you celebrate this historic occasion.

‘The warmth of the welcome we have received today is all that we have come to expect in a county which is renowned for its sense of belonging and its feeling of community. It is something which all who know this wonderful part of the world will recognise instantly, and can never forget.

‘Here in Doncaster, you have, of course, a great deal of which to be proud: from your Roman origins two thousand years ago, to your crucial role in the Industrial Revolution and in the creation of this nation’s railway network, to the pre-eminent place you occupy in the horse-racing world.

‘For all those reasons, and many many more, it is entirely fitting that Doncaster should be chosen as one of the new cities created to celebrate The late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. We mark that occasion now in memory of my beloved mother’s lifelong dedication to all that is best about our country. She would, I know, be immensely glad that this honour should be conferred on a place where it is so richly deserved.

‘It is my hope that your new status will be taken not just as a mark of your community’s great achievements in the past, but also of your ambition for the future. Doncaster as a town has played its part in the life of the nation for two millennia, and I know that this very special community will approach the future as a city with the same enterprise, the same resilience, and the same good old Yorkshire spirit.

‘So, ladies and gentlemen, nothing could give me greater pleasure than to offer you my most heartfelt congratulations as you celebrate your new-found status, and to wish you all every possible success for the next two thousand years.’

Doncaster is one of eight new cities named as part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

In October 2022 The King, accompanied by The Queen Consort, conferred City status on Dunfermline

The remaining six are Bangor, Colchester, Doncaster, Douglas, Dunfermline, Milton Keynes, Wrexham and Stanley on the Falkland Islands.  

Kate keeps her cool in khaki! Princess of Wales is the picture of poise in an elegant £369 Hobbs coat and £36 Mango dress as she visits a children’s centre on day bombshell new season of The Crown is released

By Harriet Johnston for MailOnline 

The Princess of Wales was the picture of elegance today as she visited a children’s centre in Hillingdon hours after the release of the explosive new series of The Crown.

Kate Middleton, 40, appeared in good spirits as she arrived at Colham Manor Children’s Centre this morning, where she is set to learn more about maternal mental health and speak with staff who have helped vulnerable mothers in the community. 

The royal donned a smart £369 dark olive coat from Hobbs for the occasion, which she paired with a £36 khaki dress from Mango, her £625 Jimmy Choo bag and her favourite set of £550 pearl drop earrings from designer Kiki McDonough. 

The mother-of-three, who has focused on early years support and mental health in her royal career, was beaming as she greeted staff and appeared to chat with members of the team as she entered the centre. 

Her visit comes hours after the release of the new series of The Crown, which is likely to have sent shockwaves through the palace. The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English has suggested that the programme may be so controversial that it could prompt the Palace to break its ‘never complain, never explain’ tradition. 

Kate’s character doesn’t appear in the newest series of The Crown – however she will be portrayed in the next, and final, season of the explosive drama. 

Today, The Princess swept her hair into her usual bouncy blow dry style, and opted for a neutral makeup look, with a touch of blusher and a little eyeliner for the occasion.

The coat, the Lori Wool Cashmere Blend Belted Long Coat in olive from the high street retailer Hobbs, is described online as ‘inspired by military design’ and is a ‘timeless’ piece. 

The royal, who is known for her love of high street brands, paired the trendy coat with a comfortable khaki green knit dress from Mango.

The brand is one which she has worn a number of times in the past, while she also occasionally dresses her children in the label. 

Meanwhile she accessorised with her £625 Jimmy Choo croc-embellished handbag and a matching pair of heels. 

During today’s visit, Kate will hear how the care provided in the borough of Hillingdon exemplifies the benefits of adapting a system to better suit the needs of women and families.

Meanwhile she is also set to join  a mother and baby group taking place at the Centre and speak with mothers who have received support for their mental health to hear about their experiences. 

The session will include mothers who have been supported by two of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s member organisations – Home-Start and Birth Companions. 

The royal is then set to meet representatives from agencies working across perinatal services including specialist psychiatry staff, midwives, health visitors and social workers for a roundtable discussion.

There, they are set to discuss how the service has developed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable mothers in their community,

Earlier this year, the royal said no mother is ‘immune to experiencing anxiety and depression’ in a video to mark becoming patron of the MMHA. 

Kate has made the early years development of children one of the main pillars of her public role and the work complements the work she is trying to do through her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. 

The MMHA is a UK-wide charity and network of more than 100 organisations, working to ensure women and families affected by perinatal mental problems have access to high-quality comprehensive care and support.

Her visit today comes as the latest series of The Crown was released on Netflix – with royal experts warning it is likely to leave the palace reeling with it’s controversial scenes. 

It features graphic reconstructions of the most private of conversations in lascivious detail, imagined chats between Prince William and his late mother, and Princess Diana’s infamous interview with Martin Bashir. 

Last year the then Duke of Cambridge made a deeply emotional public statement asking that the Bashir interview, which was obtained through deception, should never be seen in public again. Sources have since made clear that this applies to using it for dramatic purposes too.

However the programme dedicates two episodes to the Bashir interview – and even portrays Prince William as tearfully watching it unfold on television from Eton.

The depiction of senior royals, particularly the then-Prince of Wales, is so relentlessly negative – and the dramatic licence used to recreate relatively recent events in their lives so great – that some scenes verge on the defamatory. 

Royal insiders have also pointed out that The Crown has been released almost two months to the day after Queen Elizabeth died, making the twisting of facts even more distasteful. 

Royal editor Rebecca slammed scenes as ‘verging on defamatory’.  admitted parts of the show feel ‘pretty distasteful’ and said that while she initially felt that the reaction around the next season was ‘a bit of a storm in a teacup’, she was ‘shocked’ by its contents.

Speaking on Palace Confidential, she hinted that the Palace would wait for the release today before considering ‘fueling the flames’.

‘I think they want to see it for themselves,’ Rebecca told host Jo Elvin.

However, she added: ‘I think it might be one of those occasions where they’re pushed to say something.’

Meanwhile royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said The Crown’s desire to ‘knock’ the Monarchy ‘whenever possible’ will cause a ‘good deal of pain’.

He told MailOnline: ‘There were always dangers which The Cron had to surmount as it moved into the 1990s.

‘Apart from calls for a disclaimer before each episode, only observed so far in the marketing for the 5th series, it obviously had to show Diana’s interview on Panorama, probably the most famous television interview ever given, in some form. This interview has been totally discredited and the subsequent cover up by the BBC is notorious.

‘William has called for it never to be screened again and this depiction is bound to increase interest in it. Yet no series which purports to cover this period, as The Crown does, could possibly ignore it.

‘I am pretty certain it will be shown as a discredited and dubious enterprise and Bashir as the shockingly duplicitous character that he is.

‘I fear what is coming will cause a good deal of pain to those involved, Netflix will probably get a vast audience for it but indications from previews are that, for the royals, this is nothing short of a horror show.’

It was announced earlier this year that The Crown have cast actress Meg Bellamy in the role of the Princess for series six. 

The Netflix show initially put out a casting call in April to find a ‘stunning actress’ to portray the role of a young Kate, and now after a five month wait, they’ve finally found their Duchess.

Meg, who was head girl at St Crispin’s School where she studied drama, will star alongside Ed McVey, who has been cast as her onscreen husband Prince William.

Ed and Meg will play the couple during the period in which their romance blossomed while studying at St Andrews University.

It is not known how significant a part Kate will be in the final series – casting calls for Prince William and Prince Harry suggested they would play a large part in the programme.

It indicated there may be storylines affecting the young Prince’s lives in the late nineties and early noughties. 

The time period will likely cover William attending University of St Andrew’s in Scotland where he met Kate as well as Prince Charles’ wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles and the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.

It may also cover Prince Harry’s party days, including alleged experiments with cannabis and alcohol, which resulted in Prince Charles taking the then 16-year-old Prince to a rehab centre in a bid to set him straight.