Black Ferns hug it out with King Charles Black Ferns

Members of the Black Ferns asked permission to break protocol before sharing a group hug with King Charles during a visit to Buckingham Palace this morning.

The World Cup winners were visiting the King ahead of Sunday’s clash against England at Twickenham, a rematch of the 2021 World Cup final.

“We all wanted a hug, but only if that’s okay with you,” Ayesha Leti-I’iga asked the English King.

“A hug? Why not,” Charles responded.

A video of the moment was posted on the Black Ferns official Instagram account.

The King later made the squad laugh during an impromptu speech, when he said: “I much appreciated this chance to meet you and have such a warm hug from most of you,” adding: “Very healing”.

Leti-Iiga told British media she didn’t intend her teammates to jump in.

“I asked him ‘Can we have a hug?” and the King said ‘Yes’ but as I went in to hug him the others all jumped on top so it turned into more of a scrum.”

“I thought you said ‘We’, so we all got involved,” teammate Liana Mikaele-Tuu added.

Details of Charles’s first major tour since his cancer diagnosis were released on Tuesday, with the King travelling to Australia and making a state visit to Samoa for a Commonwealth leaders’ summit.

But he will not travel to New Zealand, a country along with Britain and Australia where he is also the head of state.

“I’m extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in later October because of doctor’s orders, but I hope there’ll be another excuse (to come) before not too long,” he said.

Champagne was served for Charles’s guests but the rugby players opted for fruit juice and water, with the King joking: “I’m so pleased to have this opportunity to greet you all, for a short moment – apparently not to be able to give you a drink.”

During the event, the squad also performed a waiata – a traditional welcome song – after Charles expressed his sympathy following the recent death of New Zealand’s Maori King Tuheitia.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission