At the height of the heatwave sweeping Britain last month, 250 delegates gathered in the Throne Room at St James’s Palace for a reception on climate change.
The historic London building does not have air conditioning and the guests struggled to cope with the soaring temperatures, even though the curtains had been drawn in an attempt to keep out the heat and large fans were dotted around.
There was, however, one man who refused to give in to the heat: King Charles. Immaculately dressed as always, the top button of his shirt remained fastened and there was no question of him removing the jacket of his grey Anderson & Sheppard suit.
His only concession to the stifling atmosphere was to mop his brow discreetly from time to time using the lilac silk handkerchief that matched the colour of his Turnbull & Asser tie.
The Master of the Household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, was so worried about the monarch, who is still being treated for an unspecified form of cancer, that he held an electric fan next to the King’s head in a desperate attempt to cool him down.
