- Charles III made a hidden gesture to his two sons during a traditional ceremony on Saturday.
- As the king, Charles had to swear oaths and sign several documents at the Accession Council.
Charles III began his reign as king with a subtle nod to his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
On Saturday, a historic ceremony known as the Accession Council was held at St. James's Palace to formally proclaim him the new sovereign. During the two-part proceedings, Charles was required to swear royal oaths and sign various official documents, which he did so using a pen and – as it turns out – a special ink pot.
According to a tweet shared by Roya Nikkhah, royal editor at The Sunday Times, the ink pot was a joint gift from both William and Harry.
"In a touching symbol from his sons marking change of reign, the ink pot on the signature table was a gift from the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex," Nikkhah wrote on Saturday.
The subtle tribute to Charles' two sons was also picked up by Rebecca English, the royal editor at the Daily Mail, who tweeted to point out the ink pot on Saturday.
But the ink pot was also involved with another, entirely different, viral moment.
In the second half of the Accession Council as Charles was preparing to sign more documents, he appeared to intensely gesture to his aides to remove the ink pot before he signed other documents.
British radio presenter Greg Scott re-tweeted a short clip from the ceremony, which has been viewed over 22 million times, and compared Charles motioning to his aides to asking for a messy table to be cleared at a McDonald's.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail shared a collection of public reactions to the moment on Twitter, with observers noting that the king appeared to be "flustered" about the pen situation at the ceremony.
In any case, including a gift from both of his sons during such a historic ceremony is another indication of a change in the reported rift between Charles and Harry.
It comes after Charles mentioned his love for his son, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle during his first speech as king on Friday.
However, Harry and the monarch have had a fraught relationship since he and Markle stepped down as senior royals in January 2020. During his bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Prince Harry said there was a point when his father stopped taking his calls.
Harry said he and his father began speaking again in the following months, but that there was "a lot to work through."
"There's a lot of hurt that's happened, and I will continue to try and make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship," Harry told Winfrey.
In December 2021, there were new reports that Prince Harry and his father had "barely spoken" in months,
The next month, Charles wrote that he was "proud" of Prince Harry in an essay penned for Newsweek, writing that Harry "has passionately highlighted the impact of climate change, especially in relation to Africa, and committed his charity to being net zero."