King Charles III was visibly moved as he viewed the handiwork on an 18th century clock whose chimes were restored by an Oxfordshire horologist.

Steve Fletcher, from Witney, met the new monarch when he appeared on a special episode of BBC’s The Repair Shop last week.

In The Repair Shop: A Royal Visit, the then Prince of Wales asks for help restoring an 18th-century bracket clock and a piece made for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee by British ceramics maker Wemyss Ware.

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Just before the big reveal, The King asked Mr Fletcher: “Have you got the bells working again? The suspense is killing me.”

Following the uncovering, the royal said: “Oh my, look at that you see. Fantastic. It just shows what love, care and attention does. Marvellous.

“Having seen what it was like I can’t thank you enough, it really is wonderful.

“It will look really special back in Dumfries House.”

Mr Fletcher was accompanied by furniture restorer Will Kirk as well as ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay – who helped to restore a piece of pottery.

Presenter Jay Blades – who studied upholstery at the Rycotewood Furniture Centre at City of Oxford College – joined the team on the visit to Dumfries House in Scotland for the one-off episode to mark the BBC’s centenary.

After the pendulum was swung in order to hear the clock’s tick tock, King Charles glanced at his wristwatch to compare the time, saying: “Sorry, just checking.”

Speaking about his love of clocks, the King added: “To me, I just love the sound, the tick tock.

“But also if they chime – that’s why I love grandfather clocks.

“I find it rather reassuring in a funny way and they become really special parts of the house – the beating heart of it. So that’s why they matter to me.

“I’m afraid it is something I learnt from my grandmother.

“She had great fun putting a few together and trying to get them to chime at the same time in the dining room, which made it very enjoyable because everybody had to stop talking.”

When Mr Blades asked if he was happy about the restorations, King Charles said: “Oh God yes. I am so grateful to you.”

In the episode, King Charles met students from the Prince’s Foundation Building Craft Programme – a training initiative that teaches traditional skills such as blacksmithing, stonemasonry and wood carving.

The monarch said: “I still think the great tragedy is the lack of vocational education in schools, actually not everybody is designed for the academic.

“Apprenticeships are vital but they just abandoned apprenticeships for some reason.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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