Reality star 'mortified' after breaking royal protocol five times during meeting with King Charles

British reality TV star Sophie Habboo was left feeling "mortified" after repeatedly breaching royal protocol during her first time meeting King Charles.

Habboo, 30, and husband Jaime Laing, 36, were invited to the annual King's Trust Awards on June 26 at Buckingham palace alongside celebrity ambassadors including George Clooney and his wife Amal.

The pair shared the encounter on their podcast Nearly Parents, explaining they had been briefed on the royal protocol they should follow upon meeting King Charles.

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They were told to "bow your head" or "curtsey" before addressing him as Your Majesty.

"Then you call him Sir afterwards," Laing explained.

They were strictly told, "Do not raise your hand and shake his hand until he raises his hand towards you."

It was on this part of the protocol that Habboo spectacularly failed.

Laing said King Charles was speaking to two others and they were "next in line" when he saw Habboo repeatedly raise her hand.

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"He kept looking at me to talk to me, I'm sure of it!" she said.

Laing confirmed King Charles "kept looking towards Sophie" and "as soon as he went towards Sophie, Sophie put her hand up".

She confirmed she did this "five times" and her awkward encounter has been documented by the press who here in attendance.

"You're meant to wait until he puts his hand up," Laing laughingly reminded her.

Habboo explained: "I thought I was missing my opportunity and I didn't listen to that, because they were just talking and it was noise in my ear. So I thought... is this my moment? Am I meant to shake and curtsey? I was buckling."

The final time Habboo raised her hand in preparation to shake King Charles' hand, Laing said she "just held it there and didn't move it".

Finally, King Charles shook her hand.

This experience, however, didn't stop the couple taking full advantage of their visit to Buckingham Palace.

The pair later posted a video showing them twerking along to the Baby Mama dance in a nod to Meghan Markle's own release of performing the dance during her labour with Princess Lilibet in 2021, which she shared on her socials only recently.

Habboo and Laing are currently expecting their first child, and the pair couldn't resist the opportunity.

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They found a spot on the stairs at the palace, and filmed their own viral video.

"They said we couldn't film film in Buckingham Palace…" Laing captioned the video on Instagram.

Over the top of the clip he also proclaimed: "The Royal baby has arrived".

Habboo is four months pregnant.

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Clearly the couple didn't manage to spoil their relationship with the royals in any way, because the Royal Family official Instagram account commented on their video, saying: "We see you" with a winking emoji.

The official Kings Trust Instagram account added: "All of our attendees are very well behaved" along with an eye and laughing emoji.

"We are here for this type of replies," one of their followers responded.

"Truly honoured to meet and shake hands with His Majesty, King Charles," the couple later said when sharing photos of the encounter.

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