The Royal Story The Royal Story
Prince William and Princess Kate once challenged BBC presenter Greg James after he made a joke involving their daughter, Princess Charlotte.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who are parents to George, 13, Charlotte, 11, and Louis, eight, were quick to respond after the radio host poked fun at a moment from Charlotte’s first day at school.
The young royal began her education at Thomas’s Battersea in south London on 5 September 2019. William and Catherine accompanied their daughter for the milestone occasion, with her older brother Prince George also joining the family.
Charlotte wore the school’s navy-blue uniform dress for her big day, while Catherine carried her daughter’s eye-catching pink backpack decorated with a pony design.
Just four years old and beginning reception at the time, Charlotte initially appeared slightly shy as she approached the school. She soon greeted Helen Haslem, head of the lower school, with a handshake as her family stood alongside her.
Greg’s on-air commеnts about the Princess
It was Charlotte’s polite handshake with her teacher that prompted Greg James to make the remark that later caught William and Catherine’s attention.
The BBC radio presenter subsequently explained that the royal couple had apparently been tuned in to his programme on the morning of their daughter’s first day at school.
Recalling what happened, Greg said: “were listening on the morning Charlotte went to school. I saw the photo during the show and said, ‘Who the hell shakes hands with their teacher on the first day?'”
READ MORE: William Happily Steps Back as Confident Kate Commands the Spotlight on Royal Engagements
Several weeks after making the joke on air, Greg James came face to face with William and Catherine when he accompanied Radio 1’s Teen Heroes on a visit to Kensington Palace.
The presenter later recalled that the royal couple had not forgotten what he had said about Charlotte’s first day at school and brought up the subject when they met.
James revealed: “They said: ‘We were listening on the morning of little Charlotte’s first day, and we want to talk to you about the handshaking thing.'” He admitted his immediate reaction was: “I went: ‘Oh God, no!'”
The radio host then remembered exactly what he had said during the original broadcast: “They’d heard me saying, ‘This school was so posh they had to shake hands with their teacher every day. They were not like that in my day. You were pleased if you got a smile,'” he recalled.
All is forgivеn!
Over the years, Greg has developed a light-hearted and playful rapport with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Their friendly dynamic was on display again in March, when William unexpectedly joined Greg during his ambitious tandem cycling challenge.
By the time the Prince appeared, Greg had already reached the fifth day of an eight-day journey covering around 630 miles, or 1,000 kilometres, across England, Wales and Scotland. The demanding route was due to conclude in Edinburgh.
Prince William jumps in the saddlе
William climbed onto the rear seat of the tandem and spent roughly half an hour cycling alongside the BBC presenter through the South Yorkshire countryside.
During their ride, the pair passed a group of children. Greg called out a greeting before drawing their attention to his unexpected cycling companion, shouting: “It’s Prince William!”
William immediately played along with the moment, joking in response: “It’s a lookalike!”
The joking continued as they cycled past the onlookers. When Greg suggested the crowd probably did not believe Prince William was actually riding behind him, William teased: “They think you’ve lost it.”
Greg made another attempt to draw attention to his royal passenger, prompting William to add: “He’s hallucinating,” before the pair burst out laughing.
After finishing the ride, Greg spoke to fellow Radio 1 presenters Sam MacGregor and Danni Diston and admitted he was still trying to take in the unexpected encounter.
He said: “I’ve got so many flies in my mouth because I’ve been cycling with my mouth wide open. All our jaws are on the floor from how mad that all was.”
Despite the light-hearted atmosphere, Greg confessed that sharing a tandem with the future king had made him particularly nervous.
“That’s the tightest I’ve grabbed the handlebars for the whole week,” he said. “When he left, I just sat down quietly and thought, ‘Fair play, he did not need to do that.’
“But I didn’t kill the future king!”
