King Charles responds to man saying 'while we struggle to heat homes we have to pay for your parade'

King Charles III was heckled today as he met members of the public in Cardiff, with a member of the crowd asking the new King about the cost of living crisis. Take a look at the uncomfortable moment below:

While people's energy bills have been given a two year price cap freeze to avoid them rising further, that didn't stop an earlier significant jump in the cost of living.

Last winter, the average household was paying £1,277 per year on energy bills, this winter it will be £1,971.

Though it could have been much worse it's still a major jump in the cost of living for many households, and coupled with a cost of living crisis fuelled by rising inflation many people are already struggling to cope.

With that in mind, many might wonder if a country where some households can't afford to heat their homes when it's cold should be putting on lavish ceremonies that cost millions of pounds for the royal family.

One person in the crowd who met King Charles III in Wales today (16 September) voiced those sentiments and got an answer, albeit a short one.

As the King stepped up to the line of people waiting to shake his hand and say hello, a man in the crowd had a question for the monarch on the rising cost of heating and the price the British taxpayer forks over for the royal family.

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He said: "While we struggle to heat our homes we have to pay for your parade. The taxpayer pays £100 million for you, what for?"

The new King's response to the question appeared to be a short and mumbled 'sure' - or a word along those lines - as he continued to swiftly move down the line and shake hands with others.

Ahead of the King's visit to Wales the Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford had said anti-monarchists had a right to protest as long as it was restrained.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, he said when it came to protesting the monarchy 'people have that right and I think it will be exercised with restraint' given the current circumstances.

Drakeford also called on the police to 'recognise the rights that people have' when dealing with people voicing their opposition to the monarchy.

ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

While there were loud cheers to greet the King and Queen Consort at Cardiff Castle, there were also audible boos from a number of demonstrators calling for abolition of the monarchy.

Others across the country who have voiced opposition to the royal family, or certain members of it in particular, have been charged by the police including one man who called Prince Andrew a 'sick old man'.

As for the cost of living crisis, some members of the public who could be facing a tougher winter than anticipated are staff from the King's old residence at Clarence House who have been served redundancy notices.

Before the price cap freeze the UK was facing warnings from experts that half the households in the nation could end up in fuel poverty, and while the cap freeze will help it doesn't fix the problem that many were already feeling the squeeze before the scheduled energy price rises in October.