King Charles Releases New Statement with Special Signature on IG

The Paris 2024 Olympics have officially come to a close—and now, King Charles has a special message for Team Great Britain.

In case you missed it, Team GB scored a total of 65 medals, including 14 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze. This puts them in seventh place for the most medals won by a country, and King Charles wasted no time in celebrating their efforts. On Instagram, the 75-year-old monarch shared an Olympics-themed graphic and wrote, "My wife joins me in sending our warmest congratulations to the competitors and their support teams from @teamgb and across the whole Commonwealth, for their many outstanding successes at the Olympic Games in Paris. Your achievements, across so many disciplines, were forged from that invaluable combination of raw talent, true grit and hard toil over many years, burnished these past weeks by sportsmanship and team spirit in the finest tradition of the Games."

The king also congratulated other competing countries, adding, "To those who missed out on the greatest prizes, you have most certainly not fallen short in the pride that you, too, have generated for your nations. As we thank France for hosting such a wonderful tournament and look to the Paralympics ahead, I can only say that you have all been an inspiration." The monarch also signed the caption by adding his signature, "Charles R."

Royal enthusiasts will know that the letter “R” stands for “Rex,” which is the Latin translation of the word “king.” And similarly, His Majesty's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, used to include the letter in her unique signature, “Elizabeth R”—only in that case, the “R” stood for “Regina,” which means “queen” in Latin.

In response to the king's encouraging statement, one fan commented, "Such a beautiful thoughtful kind message from the king and queen." Another said, "A tribute to the spirit of excellence and unity that defines the Commonwealth."