A 21-year-old man has been fined for throwing an egg towards King Charles in Luton because his visit to a "poor area" was in "bad taste".
Harry May pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday to a Section 5 public order offence relating to the monarch's public walkabout on December 6.
Jason Seetal, for the prosecution, said police had detained May after seeing him hurl a projectile towards the monarch, which landed on the floor nearby as the King spoke with members of the public.
Mr Seetal said that when officers interviewed May, he told them "he did this because he believed the King visiting a town like Luton, which is a deprived and poor area, was in bad taste and he wanted to make a point of this".
The prosecutor told the court: "There had been a large crowd of members of the public there to greet King Charles III. As he exited a vehicle, he's gone to greet members of the public, shaking hands and having a few brief conversations as he moved along the line.
"Within that crowd that had gone to greet him was Harry May."
May was later confronted by a police officer who asked what he had thrown, to which he replied: "An egg."
May, of Moreton Road, South Luton, in Bedfordshire, sat in the dock wearing glasses and a navy jacket and remained expressionless as the facts were read out to the court.
Following the egg throw, the King was temporarily steered away from crowds outside Luton Town Hall by his security staff.
He then resumed shaking hands with members of the public a short while later after being moved to a different area.
May's defence lawyer, Alex Benn, told the court he "deeply regrets" his actions and that he "cares deeply about his local community, especially the poverty that exists in certain areas of Luton".
May was fined £100 and ordered to pay £85 in costs.
The incident came just weeks after 23-year-old Patrick Thelwell was arrested for throwing an egg at the King and Queen Consort during a visit to York.
The royal couple had just arrived in the city on Nov 9 to unveil a statue in honour of the late Queen at York Minster when a figure in the crowd threw four eggs, all of which missed.
As Thelwell was bundled to the ground by police, onlookers chanted “shame on you” and “God save the King”.
