Royal family jokes with Natural History Museum over King Charles’s T-rex tie

Ever seen a T-rex wear a tie? What about a T-rex wearing a tie covered in King Charles III’s face? The Natural History Museum’s latest social media post has drawn laughter and delight from fans after it shared an edited photo of exactly that - and has even tickled the royal family.

It comes after the King was seen wearing a pink tie with a T-rex pattern during his recent visit to a cancer treatment centre in London. It marked the monarch’s first public engagement since he received a cancer diagnosis in February.

Charles said that receiving his diagnosis was “a bit of a shock” while speaking to a cancer patient who was receiving her chemotherapy, and added that he was due for his own treatment in the afternoon.

After spotting the monarch carrying out his public duties, the Natural History Museum shared a funny post on X, formerly Twitter, comparing Charles with his T-rex tie to the museum’s famous T-rex ‘wearing’ Charles tie.

In the caption, the museum wrote: “Who wore it best? Great to see the King giving a cheeky nod to the king of the dinosaurs in this fantastic T-rex tie while out on duties.

“Our very own T-rex had chosen his King Charles tie to wear to say hello to visitors this morning! One of them will have to change…”

Joining in on the fun, the official X account for the royal family wrote: “Rex-cellent choice!”

Royal fans delighted in the light-hearted exchange, with many adding their own puns. “Hmmm between the t-REX AND his Majesty King Charles wearing ties and who wore it better… I would say it’s a TIE. See what I did there?” one person joked.

Another added: “A roaring seal of approval here!”

The dinosaur-themed tie that Charles donned was reportedly a gift to the King from his six-year-old grandson, Prince Louis, who is said to be a fan of dinosaurs.

The King’s choice to wear this particular tie signals that he is feeling well, a royal expert has suggested amid reports that his health was worse than initially thought.

Speaking to the MailOnline, royal expert Robert Hardman said: “His tie said it all. It has been a favourite since he became King, appearing on away days, at Palace receptions and even a trip to church.

“Featuring a blue dinosaur pattern on a pink silk background, it is a cheeky play on his official ‘Charles III Rex’ cypher. Staff know that when ‘C-Rex’ is wearing his ‘T-Rex’ tie, he probably has a spring in his step.”

Buckingham Palace announced on Friday 26 April that the King will return to public duties while continuing his cancer treatment. In a statement, the palace said: “His Majesty the King will shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his recent cancer diagnosis.”

The spokesperson added that “doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress [of the King’s treatment programme] so far that the King is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties”.

On Tuesday, Charles visited the University College hospital’s Macmillan Cancer Centre in hopes of highlighting the importance of early cancer diagnoses. Throughout his time there, the King said: “We need to get more people tested early.”

The monarch will also now take on a new role as patron of Cancer Research UK, to mark his return to public duties.

Watch: Cancer patients meet King Charles as innovative treatments put in the spotlight

Read more about King Charles:

• King Charles to return to public duties while continuing cancer treatment (The Guardian, 3-min read)

• What we know and don't know about the King's cancer diagnosis (Yahoo News UK, 5-min read)

• When you should get checked for certain cancer types (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)