Appearing at the Abbey to celebrate Commonwealth Day, Charles respectfully watched as Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club performed a traditional Māori welcome. The King later gave members of the club a hongi.
But while Charles stood and watched the performance, Camilla walked past, only stopping once she made it to the stairs of the Abbey.
She then turned around and looked on as she tightly held on to her hat which the wind threatened to blow off her head.
The act caught the attention of Twitter users, with some quick to call out the Queen Consort for being rude and disrespectful toward the performers.
One person said: “These beautiful people stood outside in the cold in bare feet to greet them and she does this?”
Another said: “That was so rude, they were performing a haka for her.” While a third said: “That was her Commonwealth message to walk past them. King Charles at least had the decency to give them his time.”
“So rude! Even Prince Philip would never have done something so disrespectful,” another tweeted.
After the performance, the two continued on inside where Charles delivered his first Commonwealth Day speech as monarch.
Paying tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, he said he draws “great strength from her example” and recalled her “particular pride” in the Commonwealth.
He continued: “The Commonwealth has been a constant in my own life, and yet its diversity continues to amaze and inspire me.”
The royal said the people of the Commonwealth need to “unite and be bold” in the many “challenges” it faces.
He added: “Its near boundless potential as a force for good in the world demands our highest ambition; its sheer scale challenges us to unite and be bold.”
Charles broke the queen’s tradition of pre-recording the address by attending in person with senior royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The same venue is set to host the King’s upcoming Coronation ceremony.
