Prince William and Princess Kate’s awkward moment with a famous train enthusiast has gone viral on —with one fan saying they looked “so confused.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales jumped on the subway in West London in May 2023, to head into town on the Elizabeth Line, named in tribute of , who had died months earlier. As they got off at Tottenham Court Road station on their way to the Dog and Duck pub in Soho, they suddenly found themselves in conversation with a famous trainspotter, Francis Bourgeois.
The TikTok influencer is known for being very enthusiastic about trains in a charmingly awkward way and filming himself close up using a GoPro in fish eye mode.
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A clip of the moment newly caught attention after being liked 15k times and viewed almost 90k times, having been posted with the message: “I discovered these two are millennials while making this and idk how to feel about that.”
On screen captions suggested “they have no idea who this guy is,” as the footage showed Bourgeois jump to his feat to go and shake their hands, saying: “Erm, very nice to meet you.”
Kate replied: “very nice to meet you,” while William said: “Hi, how are you doing very nice to see you.”
Bourgeois added: “Erm, I hope you enjoy the Elizabeth Line,” before William shrugged and replied: “Yeah, its been good. Have a good day.”
The TikTok influencer replied “cheerio,” before sitting down in his seat, looking somewhat starstruck.
He later posted the footage online, writing: “The Elizabeth Line sprint at Tottenham Court Road is quite enjoyable once you get used to it!”
The post then skipped onto footage of Kate making William put his mask on during Covid-19 and the prince asking his daughter, , to push him on a swing.
One fan responded to the post by writing: “Why is the first clip so funny HAHAHAHA,” while the original poster replied: “Just three awkward mfs.”
Another said: “LOL the way William looks over at Catherine to laugh at the train guy 😆 they’re so confused.”
At the time Kate and William were just days out from ‘s coronation. They were asked about it during the journey and the princess replied: “Yes, it’s going to be a busy time. We’re getting there. I still feel like we’re trying to get ducks in a row.”
Williams Brown is Regalrumination.com‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly , at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com‘s
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