Student denies threatening behaviour after ‘throwing eggs at the King’
A student accused of throwing eggs at the King during a royal visit to York has pleaded not guilty to threatening behaviour.
Patrick Thelwell, 23, allegedly tried to pelt Charles with four eggs as he arrived to unveil a statue of his late mother at York Minster, with every attempt missing.
Bodyguards ushered Charles and Camilla away from the scene moments later as others in the crowd shouted ‘God save the King’ and ‘shame on you’.
Nicola Hall, defending, told York Magistrates’ Court her client ‘would take the view his actions were necessary and part of a protest against the establishment’.
The trial will look at whether the egg-throwing was ‘part of a legitimate protest’ and whether it ‘looked likely to cause fear of unlawful violence’, she added.
Thelwell, who is charged with breaching Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986, was released on unconditional bail until his trial begins on April 14.
The King was subjected to another attempted egging in Luton less than a month after his visit to York.
Harry May, 21, was last week ordered to pay £185 in fines and legal costs over the incident.
A court heard how he had been motivated by a belief that the King’s visit to ‘deprived and poor’ Luton was ‘in bad taste’.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.