King Charles III, who's continuing his reign while battling cancer, faced unexpected situation during his latest public outing with Queen Camilla in Newmarket.
The 76-year-old was confronted in awkward moment over the royal family’s cost to taxpayers. The King briefly responded to a question while turning a deaf ear to others as he was hit with tense questions about the Firm's expenses.
However, the King had a diplomatic response when two members of the public asked him about the hot topic.
"Why does your family cost us half a billion pounds a year, Charles?" a heckler called out from the crowd during the royal couple's walkabout, as seen in a viral video shared to X.
The monarch seemingly paused for a beat, and offered a two-word response.
"Ah, yes," the King reacted, and kept moving down the line.
Last year in September, anti-monarchy group Republic published a report claiming that royal family cost taxpayers an estimated "$688 million per year".
The report alleged that this includes "hundreds of millions of pounds not accounted for by the Sovereign Grant," which is the money the monarch receives from the government for official duties.
The heckler kept at it while King Charles was walking away, and asked another question. "Why do you only pay your gardeners minimum wage?" the person called out.
The question referenced a recent report in The Sunday Times alleging that 11 out of 12 gardeners employed at Highgrove House, the King's country home, have left since 2022 due to low wages and high demands.
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