The moment was offered a surprise hug during a reception at Buckingham Palace has gone viral, after footage from his meeting with the New Zealand women’s rugby team was posted to social media site, , on Wednesday.
Charles hosted a special reception for the New Zealand women’s rugby union team nicknamed the “Black Ferns” on September 11.
The squad were invited to meet the royal during their stay in London ahead of an upcoming match against their English counterparts, the “Red Roses.”
Charles is King of New Zealand, in addition to 13 other Commonwealth Realms not including the U.K., though he has yet to visit the country following his accession to the throne.
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During his meeting with the Black Fern players in Buckingham Palace’s “Bow Room,” news cameras covering the event caught the moment that the monarch was unexpectedly asked for a “hug.”
“We all wanted a hug, but only if that’s OK with you?” they asked, to which the monarch appeared taken aback, responding: “A hug? Why not!”
Uploaded to the official Black Ferns TikTok account after the event, the players embracing the king as he broke into a wide smile.
Captioned “Kicking our feet King Charles 🥹✨,” the TikTok video has been viewed over one million times in less than 24 hours. It has also gained in excess of 235,000 likes and over 2,000 comments, many of which have praised Charles and the unusual tactile display for a royal engagement.
“That’s the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on him,” posted one user.
“He probably doesn’t get hugged or even touched often. Such a simple human gesture to a man that has everything and look at the smile on his face. Priceless,” responded another, with a further comment reading: “King Charles changing my mind on a daily 💗.”
Hugs and the royal family became a topic of public interest in 2023 when published his bombshell memoir, Spare. In it, he made the surprise revelation that he had , , in his life.
He also stated that when his mother, , died when he was just 12 years old, .
“Pa didn’t hug me. He wasn’t great at showing emotions under normal circumstances, how could he be expected to show them in such a crisis?,” the prince wrote. “But his hand did fall once more on my knee and he said: It’s going to be OK.”
King Charles, in line with a blanket “no comment” position adopted by Buckingham Palace, did not publicly respond to the claims made by Harry in his book.
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The king is set to since his accession with Queen Camilla in October, when he will visit Australia and the South Pacific island of Samoa. New Zealand has not been included in the itinerary on the advice of the royal doctors, as Charles is still in recovery following .
During the Black Ferns reception on Wednesday, the monarch said he was sorry not to be able to extend his trip.
“I’m extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in later October—it’s on doctors’ orders,” he said.
“But I hope there will be another excuse [to visit the country] before too long. In the meantime, give my love to New Zealand!”
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