Even kings love a good cuddle.
King Charles delighted royal fans while meeting rugby players at Buckingham Palace Wednesday, Sept. 11 — and while you might not have caught his mother, Queen Elizabeth, giving a group hug, it turns out he's all for it.
"Yeah, we all wanted a hug,” Ayesha Leti-I’iga of New Zealand's Black Fern rugby union said in a video shared by the Royal Family on Instagram, adding, "But only if it’s okay with you.”
"A hug?" The King asked, before adding, "Why not!"
The women squealed and laughed as they jumped in for an embrace, and a beaming King Charles looked equally thrilled with their sweet gesture.
"I've been flattened by a scrum!" he joked after their cuddle.
He then offered separate hugs to other women from the team, who were visiting the palace ahead of their game against England's Red Roses.
The team shared another charming video recapping their visit, with one player greeting The King, "'Sup, G?" before the monarch revealed he once played rugby, too.
"Broken nose, unfortunately," he said with a laugh.
"I much appreciated this chance to meet you and have such a warm hug from most of you," he told the Black Ferns after they performed a traditional song, adding their embraces were "very healing."
"Did I just become a King Charles fan..?" one account commented on the video, while another fan wrote, "Go NZ! How refreshing to see King Charles so happy and relaxed. A big NZ cuddle is just what the Dr ordered 🤍🤗🤗🤗."
While group hugs might not have been the royal norm during Queen Elizabeth's reign, The King's reaction to the Black Ferns shows a more relaxed approach to dealing with the public — and a desire to make his own rules.
It is, however, not King Charles's first time doling out embraces to New Zealanders (or in general); in 2012, he gave a big hug to a woman while visiting a sports training facility during a trip to Auckland, and he's given out the occasional cuddle during other events.
And although Queen Elizabeth favored formal handshakes, younger members of the Royal Family like Kate Middleton and Prince William are often seen hugging fans, especially children, and Princess Diana was known for her warm embraces with the public.
Unfortunately, The King won't be visiting the Black Ferns in New Zealand after his upcoming tour of Australia, but here's hoping for more group hugs in the future.
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