The Prince and Princess of Wales are the primary caregivers for their three children: George, 13, Charlotte, 11, and Louis, 8. Therefore, they were quick to notice when BBC Radio presenter Greg James made a joke about Charlotte’s first day of school.

On September 5, 2019, at the age of four, Charlotte was taken to Thomas’s Battersea School in south London by her parents and older brother George to begin her schooling. Wearing her navy blue school uniform, Charlotte looked rather shy as she shook hands with Helen Haslem, the headmistress of primary school. Kate was carrying a pink backpack with a pony design for her daughter.

The image of Charlotte shaking hands with her teacher caught Greg James’s attention. On the radio show, the host said, “Who shakes hands with their teacher on the first day of school?” Greg then went on to joke that Charlotte’s school was “so fancy” that students had to shake hands with their teachers every day, whereas back in his school days, just a smile from the teacher was a cause for celebration.

A few weeks later, Greg arrived at Kensington Palace with Radio 1’s Teen Heroes program. There, he was unexpectedly confronted by William and Kate. “William and Kate said, ‘We heard the show the morning Charlotte went to school and wanted to talk to you about the handshake,'” Greg recounted. The presenter immediately panicked: “Oh my God, no!”

Greg said he thought he would be in an awkward situation after the teasing on air. However, his relationship with William and his wife remained very friendly afterward.

In March of this year, William even unexpectedly joined Greg’s 630-mile cycling challenge. At that time, the BBC presenter had completed five days of his eight-day journey, traversing England, Wales, and Scotland before finishing in Edinburgh.

Prince William sat on the back of a tandem bicycle and rode with Greg for about 30 minutes through the South Yorkshire countryside. As they passed a group of children, Greg greeted them, then pointed behind him and shouted, “That’s Prince William!” “It’s an imposter!” William replied humorously.

Greg then went on to point it out to those around him, but William joked that everyone “thought he’d lost his mind.” When Greg tried to explain William’s appearance, the Prince replied, “He’s hallucinating,” and they both laughed.

After the ride, Greg admitted he was still surprised to have William join him. He said he was incredibly nervous when he realized he was cycling with the man who would become King of England. “That was the tightest grip I had on the handlebars all week,” Greg recounted. After William left, he sat down and thought, “I have to admit, he didn’t need to.” “But I didn’t kill the future king!” Greg joked.