- A conversation with school student Leo Turner followed.
- A young man mustered the courage to ask two questions
King Charles is a noted polo enthusiast, and it can now be revealed that the monarch still remembers Australian rules football 54 years after attending a match in Melbourne.
The revelation came after a young man asked the king about the AFL on Tuesday while joining Queen Camilla at the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra during her royal tour.
School student Leo Turner, 12, asked the King if he knew anything about the AFL, and his response was terse.
“Yes, I’ve heard of it,” said Charles.
Leo then asked the King to name his favorite sport, to which the 75-year-old replied: “I can’t do much right now.” Too many injuries. I used to ride horses.
It comes after the then Prince Charles joined his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in a historic Sunday game of Aussie Rules in 1970.
The Queen attended the season-opening clash between current premiers Richmond and Fitzroy in the VFL at the MCG alongside her late husband Prince Philip, Charles and Princess Anne.
King Charles (pictured in Australia on Tuesday) is a noted polo enthusiast, and it can now be revealed that the monarch is also in the AFL.
King Charles (pictured in Sydney on Tuesday), the first reigning British monarch to visit Australia in 13 years.
The Football Record cover featured the Queen attending a 1970 VFL match between Richmond and Fitzroy at the MCG, accompanied by the then Prince Charles.
Pictured: The Queen meets the Fitzroy stars in the middle of the MCG.
The royals arrived on a cavalcade, with strict instructions to follow, and the occasion unsettled some of the footballers.
Roger Dean was the Tigers’ captain that year and recalled how nervous he was 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 quite friendly, he didn’t say much, he was just polite to the players, ‘Did you enjoy the game?’ and “It’s a very difficult game, isn’t it?”
“It was pretty formal. It probably bored him to the point of snoring.
Tony Jewell, Richmond’s premiership coach in 1980, actually blamed the presence of the Queen and other royals for the shock loss.
“At half-time we reached the quarterfinals far from happy with ourselves, as we were ahead by only a few points, when we were expected to sweep away Fitzroy almost at will,” he said.
‘We just couldn’t concentrate on the job at hand… and instead of being able to collect our thoughts during half-time, there were all sorts of people running around the rooms at half-time.
‘Some were trying to explain the protocol, others were explaining how to queue and others were giving instructions. For example, we were told not to say anything, not a word, to the Queen, unless we were asked a question.
‘She didn’t say anything to me, so my meeting with the Queen was nothing more than a quick squeeze of her gloved hand.
“I also remember we had to put on clean guernseys and wash our hands at half-time.”