Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo admit a mangling of royal etiquette overshadowed their meeting with King Charles after he was pictured chuckling at them during a private reception.
The former Made In Chelsea stars were received by his Majesty at Buckingham Palace in June, shortly before attending the annual King’s Trust TKMaxx & Homesense Awards the following day.
And they admit an initial faux-pas from Sophie, 30, prompted a subsequent photo in which King Charles appears to laugh at the couple while greeting a procession of guests at the special event.
Discussing her gaffe on the latest instalment of their Nearly Parents podcast, an amused Jamie, 36, recalled how his pregnant wife had overlooked Royal etiquette by repeatedly shooting her hand out in an unsuccessful attempt to greet the Monarch.
‘When you meet the King, you slightly bow your head, or you curtsy, then you hold your hand out and call him Sir afterwards,’ he explained. ‘Do not raise your hand and shake his hand until he’s raised his hand towards you.
‘He kept looking towards Sophie, and as soon as he went towards Sophie, Sophie put her hand up, like this… and then he turned away and she put it back down again.
Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo admit a mangling of royal etiquette overshadowed their meeting with King Charles after he was pictured chuckling at them during a private reception
They admit an initial faux-pas from Sophie prompted a subsequent photo in which King Charles appears to chuckle at the couple while greeting guests at the special event
‘And she did this about three or four times, and then what happened was he looked at her again, because he’s just being polite. You’re meant to wait until he puts his hand up!’
Admitting she was mortified by the incident, which was filmed by a Netflix production team, Sophie said: ‘I thought I was missing my opportunity and I didn’t listen to that, because they were talking and it’s just noise in my ear.
‘So I thought “he’s looking at me, is this my moment, I’m meant to shake and curtsy?” And I was buckling.’
Cracking up, Jamie revealed how Sophie resorted to robotically holding her hand out in anticipation of the King as he worked his way down a line that included beauty mogul Charlotte Tilbury, Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal.
‘And then what happened was, the last time, he turned towards Sophie, Sophie put out her hand. She didn’t withdraw, she just held it there,’ he said.
‘She just held it there and didn’t move it until he came and shook her hand. Just holding it like that!’
The pair had already sparked a social media storm by appearing to poke fun at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s notorious pregnancy twerk video during their trip to the Palace.
They raised eyebrows by cheekily filmed themselves on the Grand Staircase at the Palace, which has been traversed by Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses.
(L-R) Charlotte Tilbury, George and Amal Clooney and Alice Ngitira were also in attendance at the private reception in June
An amused Jamie recalled how his pregnant wife had overlooked Royal protocol by repeatedly shooting her hand out in an unsuccessful attempt to greet the Monarch
The pair had already sparked a social media storm by appearing to poke fun at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s notorious pregnancy twerk video during their trip to the Palace (pictured)
The married couple filmed themselves recreating Harry and Meghan’s famous ‘Baby Mama’ dance in the heart of the royal residence.
The playful video came as a breach of Palace rules as guests were asked not to use their cameras inside Buckingham Palace during the star-studded King’s Trust event.
Seemingly channeling the Royal couple, Jamie wrote: ‘They said we couldn’t film in Buckingham Palace.’
While the moment was a breach in protocol and could have sparked a royal meltdown, palace aides fortunately found the funny side.
On its official Instagram account ‘theroyalfamily’ replied to the post, adding: ‘We see you’ accompanied by a pair of eyes and a wink emojis.
The King’s Trust entered the conversation in the spirit of the occasion with the quip: ‘All of our attendees are very well behaved.’
The married couple filmed themselves recreating Harry and Meghan’s famous ‘Baby Mama’ dance (pictured) in the heart of the royal residence
