NRL legend Mark Geyer left King Charles’s guards sidelined when he broke royal protocol during a meeting with the monarch in Sydney on Tuesday.
The Penrith Panthers radio star got to shake hands with Charles III as he attended an invitation-only barbecue in Parramatta – and he went a little too far with his over-enthusiastic greeting as the pair shook hands.
“The protocol was you can just do one, two, three shakes and then let go,” Geyer said on Triple M’s Mick & MG show in the Morning show on Wednesday.
“I went one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and then security grabbed my hands and took them away from me.
“Then I said, ‘Hey, don’t touch the merchandise, honey,’” Geyer joked.
Geyer said NSW Premier Chris Minns introduced him to the King as a former professional rugby league player before the two had a hilarious conversation.
“He said, ‘You look like you can 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?”
The meeting between King Charles and footballer Mark Geyer (pictured) started off on the wrong foot as the Penrith Panthers legend went a little overboard with his greeting
However, the pair soon started laughing as they had a hilarious conversation about why Geyer had to quit rugby league
“I said no, it was my groin, and he started laughing and said, ‘I know how you feel!’
Asked what it was like to shake hands with the king, ‘MG’ said: ‘Very strong handshake.
‘My first thought was, ‘How big is his hand? My hand feels like a junior burger in a Big Mac.’
Geyer was joined at the function by Australian cricket star David Warner, comedian Ahn Do and Blue Wiggle Anthony Field.
King Charles had another conversation about football during his tour, which ended when he flew to Samoa on Wednesday.
Schoolboy Leo Turner, 12, asked the King if he knew anything about AFL when the pair met at Canberra’s Botanic Gardens on Monday – and his answer was succinct.
“Yes, I have heard of it,” said the monarch.
Leo then asked the king to name his favorite sport, to which the 75-year-old replied: ‘There’s not much I can do now. Too many injuries. I used to sit on a horse.’
Geyer (pictured celebrating after Penrith’s 1991 grand final win) also revealed the monarch’s hands are so big his mitts ‘felt like a junior burger in a Big Mac’
The then Prince Charles accompanied his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, during a historic Sunday Aussie Rules match in 1970.
The Queen attended the season-opening clash between reigning Prime Ministers Richmond and Fitzroy in the VFL at the MCG, alongside her late husband Prince Philip, Charles and Princess Anne.
The royals arrived in a cavalcade, with strict instructions to follow – and the occasion stirred some foot players.
Roger Dean was the Tigers’ captain that year and recalled how nervous he became when he was tasked with introducing his teammates.
“I thought, I hope I remember all the players’ names,” Dean said.
‘I couldn’t believe I was talking to royalty.
‘He [Prince Charles] seemed nice enough, he didn’t say much, he was just courteous to the players, “Enjoy the game?” and ‘It’s a very difficult game, isn’t it’.
‘It was quite formal. He was probably bored by the snoring.’
