King Charles III received a “very comforting” hug from the New Zealand women’s rugby team.
The Black Ferns surrounded the monarch for a group hug as they met him in London. And Charles III appreciated the break in protocol.
“Yes, we all want a hug,” the team’s winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga told King Charles, 75, in a video posted by the Black Ferns and royal family Instagram accounts. “But only if you agree.”
“A hug?” Charles asked, before pausing briefly to think and replying with a smile: “Why not!”
Immediately, the teammates jumped forward to surround the laughing king with a tight hug.
“I have greatly appreciated this chance to meet you and to receive such a warm embrace from most of you,” Charles III later said, adding that the women’s embrace had been “very comforting.”
He also expressed regret at not being able to go to New Zealand during his planned trip to Australia and Samoa next month. “I am extremely sorry that I will not be able to go to New Zealand at the end of October due to medical reasons,” he said. “I hope there will be another excuse (to come) soon.”
Fans from both sides were quick to express their excitement at this unexpected break from royal protocol.
“Well done to the King and our wonderful Black Ferns for being so sincere!” “I’ve never seen his face like that. Simply brilliant!” “That made me cry,” commented another.
“The Black Ferns are shattering hundreds of years of tradition and breaking down barriers with one hug,” one user rejoiced.
