A man has been detained by police after appearing to throw eggs at the King and Queen Consort during a walkabout in York today.
Charles and Camilla were being welcomed by city leaders when four eggs were hurled at them, all of which missed before the pair were ushered away.
The monarch continued shaking hands with a member of the public as the eggs flew in his direction, pausing briefly to look at the shells cracked on the ground.
The lone protester was heard shouting "this country was built on the blood of slaves" as he was wrestled to the ground by several police officers at Micklegate Bar, a medieval gateway and focus for grand events.
Onlookers in the crowd started chanting "God save the King" and "shame on you" at the man.
The suspect was later carried away in handcuffs, with his legs bound by two uniformed officers who put him in the back of a police van.
Charles and Camilla are visiting Yorkshire to carry out a number of engagements.
They were in York to unveil a statue of Queen Elizabeth II, the first to be installed since her death.
As police were detaining the man, Charles continued with a traditional ceremony which sees the sovereign officially welcomed to the city of York by the Lord Mayor.
It was last carried out by his mother, the Queen, in 2012.
Speaking at the ceremony, Charles said: "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."
The 2m sculpture weighing 1.1 tonnes and made from lepine limestone from France was designed to celebrate the late Queen's platinum jubilee and was completed in August, the month before her death.
The King appeared unfazed as he did a walkabout and greeted some of the crowds.
It is not the first time that Charles has been targeted by a protester - in 2001, a schoolgirl in Latvia slapped the then Prince of Wales across the cheek with a flower to protest the war in Afghanistan.
And during another walkabout in the capital of New Zealand in 2005, a woman took off her shirt to show "get your colony shame off my breasts” written across her body.
In 1992, the late Queen Elizabeth was also targeted by eggs, which were hurled by protesters as she attended a church service in Dresden, Germany.
The latest incident comes amid reports that the King wants to have "honest and true discussions" to help repair relations with those affected by Britain's role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
The monarch's goddaughter revealed Charles "is ready to speak" and believes our nation's role "should not be hidden".
Fiona Compton, the daughter of former Prime Minister of St Lucia Sir John Compton, took the King on a tour of her exhibition 'The World Reimagined Globes' project.
It was the start of a two-day tour of Yorkshire where the King met with local groups, discussed farming methods and also learned of the region's rich cultural heritage.
Fiona, who grew up in St Lucia but now lives in London, revealed her discussions with Charles have led to mutual agreement on the need for "openness" when discussing Britain's role in the slave trade.
She said: "He is ready to have active conversations about Britain's relationship with the slave trade.
"Future plans about having honest and true discussions about how things can be repaired and how Britain can make some real steps.
"It's early days and positive conversations and willingness for openness and engagement.
"The project and conversations is about engaging British history in the slave trade and having open and meaningful conversations about it."
Last November, when witnessing Barbados ditch centuries of British rule to become a Republic, Charles visited the island nation to deliver a speech and recognise the "appalling atrocity of slavery" that "forever stains our history".
Equality campaigners praised the then Prince of Wales for a "grown-up conversation led by a future king".
Earlier this year Charles also told aides he believed the slave trade should be taught as widely and as thoroughly as the Holocaust.
Ms Compton, 41, a historian and artist who is an ambassador for the world famous Notting Hill Carnival in London, added: "It's ongoing conversations.
"He (Charles) says he is ready to speak on it, he is ready to have conversations and see what work can be done.
"(He has been) having the conversations for a while."
The Mirror has contacted North Yorkshire Police for comment.
