King Charles’ security team had to step in when a former Australian rugby player breached protocol while greeting the monarch during a recent Royal tour of Australia. Mark Geyer, a 56-year-old radio host and ex-rugby league star, was introduced to the King at an exclusive barbecue in Sydney and got a little over-excited while shaking his hand.
Royal protocol states that individuals are permitted a maximum of three shakes of the hand, after which they must let go. But Geyer either didn’t get the message or simply forgot it.
“I went one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. And then security grabbed my hands and took it away from me,” Geyer told Australian outlet Mick and MG in the Morning.
Despite the faux pas, the King appeared to take it in stride and even shared a few laughs with Geyer when discussing rugby and retirement moments later. “He said, ‘You look like you could still play’,” Geyer recalled.
“I said I’ve been retired for a while and he said, ‘Why did you have to retire? Was it your knees, was it your back?’ I said no, it was my groin, and he started laughing and said, ‘I know how you feel!'”
When asked what it was like to shake hands with the King, Geyer quipped: “[He has a] very strong handshake… my first thought was, ‘How big is his hand? My hand feels like a junior burger inside a Big Mac.'”
The lighthearted encounter took place during the King and Queen Camilla’s six-day visit to Australia, their first official tour of the country since Charles’ accession to the throne. During his visit, the King was quizzed about his knowledge of Aussie rules football, to which he responded, “I’ve heard of it,” before being asked what his favourite sport was. “I can’t do much now, too many injuries,” His Majesty chuckled, adding: “I used to sit on a horse.”
The Royal tour concluded with Charles and Camilla’s journey to Samoa, capping off their international engagements before returning to the UK. This trip marked a significant milestone for the King, being his 17th official visit to Australia since his first in 1966 when he was just 17-years-old.
