King carries on with audience at Buckingham Palace after being pelted with eggs by protester in York

King Charles held an audience with the President of Nigeria at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday – just hours after a protester threw eggs at the monarch during his visit to York.

Seeming to have put the incident behind him, it was business as usual for Charles, 73, as he welcomed Muhammadu Buhari to the official royal residence in London.

During the audience in the 1844 Room, Charles shook hands with the smiling president and was pictured chuckling and gesturing as he held his arms out wide. 

Earlier, as the King and Queen Consort arrived at York’s medieval gateway Micklegate Bar, a protestor began booing them before throwing four eggs in their direction, all of which missed.

The protester was heard shouting ‘this country was built on the blood of slaves’, while Charles continued shaking hands with dignitaries including as the eggs flew in his direction, pausing briefly to look at the shells cracked on the ground.

King Charles holds an audience with the President of Nigeria at Buckingham Palace

Charles reacts after an egg was thrown in his direction as he arrived for a ceremony at Micklegate Bar in York

The King went on to unveil a statue of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II – the first to be installed since her death.

In October, Charles sent a message of condolence to Mr Buhari expressing his ‘heartfelt sympathy’ over the devastating floods in Nigeria which have killed more than 600 people this year. 

Meanwhile, footage shows four eggs flying past His Majesty and breaking on the ground beside him as he was greeted by city leaders. Charles briefly looked around to see the broken eggs, but otherwise barely reacted. 

The royal couple were greeted by a line-up of local dignitaries led by the Lord Mayor and local musician in historic dress known as The York Waits. 

The King during the audience with the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari

Seeming to have put the incident behind him, it was business as usual for Charles, 73, as he welcomed Muhammadu Buhari to the official royal residence in London

But as the king and queen moved down the queue shaking hands, a single loud boo could be heard coming from from the pavement ahead of them and two eggs sailed over the heads of the dignitaries and landed by Charles’ foot. He could be seen looking quizzically at the floor.

Another flew close to the head one of the council representatives who turned and exclaimed angrily. It appears four eggs were thrown in all.

Plain-clothed royalty protection and uniformed local police swiftly moved in and identified the culprit but struggled to contain him at first as the crowds were packed so tight. ‘We’ve got him,’ one yelled out. 

Today, North Yorkshire Police confirmed a 23-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. 

The protester shouted ‘this country was built on the blood of slaves’ before he was carried away by police into a waiting van 

The 23-year-old is put into a police van by officers before being taken away from the scene 

The eggs were seen flying past His Majesty and breaking on the ground beside him as he was being greeted in York

North Yorkshire Police said a ‘well-rehearsed’ security operation had been in place for the visit to ensure the royal couple’s safety.

Charlotte Bloxham, the force’s silver commander for the operation, said: ‘I’m pleased to report that the policing operation and the overall wider visit was successful today. An enormous amount of planning and preparation goes into visits of this nature. I would like to thank all the officers and staff that supported today’s operation.

‘Many partner agencies also assisted us with the planning and execution, and I would also like to extend my thanks to them. On behalf of the force, it was a privilege for North Yorkshire Police to welcome the King and Queen Consort to North Yorkshire.’ 

As police were detaining the man, Charles continued with a traditional ceremony in which he was officially welcomed to the city of York by the Lord Mayor

Officers begged other members of the crowd to moved to one side so that they could restrain the man, who could be heard shouting: ‘This country was built on the blood of slaves.’

A woman could be heard screaming repeatedly at the top of her voice but it is not clear whether she was with him or a horrified member of the public.

He faced a hostile reaction from the rest of the crowd, some of who shouted ‘shame on you’ and ‘God save The King’ at the top of their voices to drown the protestor out.

Others yelled ‘hip hip hooray’ repeatedly and one shouted: ‘You’ve literally spoilt this for everybody’ and the man was finally pushed to the floor and handcuffed. He was repeatedly booed as he was finally carried away by uniformed officers.