Alan Titchmarsh says he worries public ‘won’t give King Charles III a chance’ after viral pen mishaps

TV presenter has been friends with the monarch for 40 years

Alan Titchmarsh has opened up about his friendship with King Charles III and said that he worries the public won’t give him “a chance”.

King Charles ascended the throne last month, after Queen Elizabeth II died from old age at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, aged 96.

In a new interview with The Times, Titchmarsh revealed he had dinner with the King at Dumfries House in Scotland the evening before the Queen died.

The gardener and broadcaster said he is unlikely to spend much time with his friend of 40 years now that Charles has become King, but their “feelings for each other will continue”.

“We understand each other. He’s a good man who works unbelievable hard for the good of our country,” Titchmarsh said.

He also voiced concerns about how the King may be received by the public, and how this is being influenced by social media.

In the days following his mother’s death, two videos of the King having issues with pens went viral online. In one clip, he used a leaky pen while trying to sign a document in Northern Ireland.

“Oh god I hate this [pen]!” he said. “I can’t bear this bloody thing, what they do, every stinking time.”

In another, he was seen gesturing to an aide to remove a pen holder from his table as he sat down for his first Privy Council meeting.

“I just worry people won’t give him a chance,” Titchmarsh said. “This thing with the pen – I mean, for God’s sake.

“He lost his father last year and he’d just lost his mother. And suddenly he has to sign a proclamation and then visit the countries of the kingdom – I mean, you’d get in a bit of a strop if your pen leaked, wouldn’t you?”

Titchmarsh said the 24-hour news cycle, and the addition of social media, means that “now people are judging every expression”.

“It’s inhuman to expect our new king to survive that level of scrutiny. He’ll go nuts.”