Fox News host Jesse Waters experienced an awkward moment during a state banquet honoring King Charles and Queen Camilla, after making an ill-received joke about gun violence in Washington, D.C.

As per The Daily Beast, Waters recounted the incident on the April 29 episode of "The Five." He was among several people introduced to the royal couple before the banquet held on Tuesday.

Waters described the initial interaction, "We do the walkthrough where you do the introduction and then... The king had no idea who I was. And so I said, 'I'm on Fox and I have two shows.' And he goes, 'Well, they must really love you here.'"

When introduced to Queen Camilla, Waters said he asked, "Well, how was the beehive?" to which she replied, "It was very good. No one got stung."

Waters then made a comment that triggered the incident: "And then I said, 'Well, you know, it was Washington D.C., you know, if the bees don't get you, the guns will.'" He added, "And then this woman just starts pulling me away from them. I don't know what I was saying. Ugh. I started mumbling."

This incident occurred just days after gunfire was reported outside the Washington Hilton, where President Trump and other officials were attending the same event. A suspect exchanged fire with Secret Service agents and was taken into custody; no injuries were reported.

Heightened security during this visit is understandable, given past threats against King Charles. StyleCaster noted that there have been previous attempts on his life, including a 1994 shooting in Sydney and a thwarted 1983 IRA bombing plot targeting then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Additionally, another Fox News host at the dinner, Greg Gutfeld, made a crass remark about Queen Camilla when asked about his opinion of the king. Gutfeld said, "I took off with Camilla. Yeah, just to horse around."

The tense atmosphere around this royal visit also included President Trump bringing up the recent shooting while greeting the King and Queen at the White House's South Lawn on April 27.

Lip reader Nicola Hickling told the New York Post that Trump said, "This shooting..." King Charles reportedly responded, "I'd rather not stand about here too long. I feel I shouldn't be here." Trump then asked if Charles was all right and added, "It's not a good thing," and "I wasn't prepared, but now I am prepared."

Given these events, it appears unlikely that Fox News will be invited to cover future royal events any time soon.

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King Charles, Queen Camilla