Fox News host Jesse Watters recently recounted his first time meeting the United Kingdom’s Queen Camilla at a White House state dinner with King Charles and his wife, in which he almost got booted from the event after cracking a joke that didn’t land as he intended. What started as a harmless beehive comment spiraled into a gun joke. Before he could even complete his sentence, someone moved in to pull him away from the Queen.
The encounter only lasted fifteen seconds, yet, it has captured the attention of the internet and has become a legendary moment that folks on social media will never let Watters forget. By the time the dinner concluded, the incident, which was of the “blink and you miss it” variety, had gone global. The event was held on April 28, 2026, at the White House.
The visit marked the 250th year since American independence complete with a joint address to Congress by President Donald Trump and King Charles, followed by a banquet hosted by the president. Watters, one of the co-hosts of Fox News’ “The Five,” was one of the guests invited to attend the event and was moving through the introduction line along with other guests when the now infamous incident took place.
Watters’ first stop was King Charles. The host stated that the King didn’t recognize him, so he made a quick introduction saying, “I’m on Fox, and I have two shows.” Charles responded to Watters, “Well, they must really love you here.” And then came the encounter with Queen Camilla. The Queen had spent a good portion of the day touring the White House’s South Lawn garden.
Part of that tour included stopping by the beehive installed when Michelle Obama occupied the White House during her husband’s time in office. Watters quickly asked Queen Camilla about the incident. “It was very good. No one got stung,” the Queen said. The Fox News host could have left it there and exited gracefully, but he decided to try his hand at a joke.
“Well, you know, it was Washington D.C., you know, if the bees don’t get you, the guns will,” he said. Immediately, a woman stepped in and started to pull him away while he was still talking. According to Yahoo News, the identity of the woman who pulled Watters away has not been revealed. Security was tight at the event due mostly to the assassination attempt against President Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Watters himself seemed to acknowledge that things went awry, stating the day after the meeting, “I don’t know what I was saying. Ugh. I started mumbling.” Folks on social media had mixed responses to the ordeal. One user on X wrote, “I am actually not amused by that. That was inappropriate. Lucky he was pulled away. If they didn’t, he might’ve said something else he didn’t have control over. Doesn’t this guy talk for a living?”
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Another individual pointed out that the White House was not at all the proper place to wisecrack about guns, saying, “Probably not the best setting for that kind of joke—especially with visiting heads of state. Even ‘humor’ about gun violence tends to land poorly in formal diplomatic moments.” Someone else simply stated, “Bad taste, Watters.”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video