The British Royal Family is one of the few remaining monarchies in the world. While their political power has diminished over the years, they are still more prominent in global discussions than other royal families. Their responsibilities now mostly revolve around ceremonial duties, public engagements, and the formal role of appointing the U.K. prime minister. At these events, they meet various prominent figures, but royal protocol generally prevents anyone from touching a member of the family unless they initiate the handshake or hug themselves.
Image Source: King Charles III meets New Zealand's Black Ferns rugby union team at Buckingham Palace on September 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
During a recent ceremony, King Charles pleasantly surprised guests by embracing a spontaneous hug request from the New Zealand women's rugby team, the Black Ferns. The team was at Buckingham Palace’s Bow Room for a special reception hosted by the King. In a video shared by The Royal Family Channel, King Charles described the hug as “very healing.”
Image Source: King Charles III with New Zealand's Black Ferns rugby union team at Buckingham Palace on September 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
"Yeah, we all wanted a hug. But only if it's okay with you," winger Ayesha Leti-I'iga asked King Charles in the clip. Taken aback, the 75-year-old monarch humbly responded, "A hug? Why not!" Clad in their black sports uniform, the team went forward to greet the King with a warm embrace. A player who wasn’t present in the group at the time didn’t want to miss the chance and hence, approached him for a personal hug later. The team was in London for a match with the English team “Red Roses” at the Allianz Stadium, according to PEOPLE.
The hug was not only healing for both parties but was also an icebreaker for further interaction. After the event, King Charles jokingly said to the team that it was "like being flattened by a scrum," as per BBC. People across social media are swooning at the sweet gesture by him and the bold request from the women's squad. “Love how the Black Ferns broke the formalities with such a warm gesture. King Charles looked pleasantly surprised,” commented u/BoobsBlissfulBloom on a video of the royal hug shared in Reddit’s famous group r/MadeMeSmile.
Image Source: Reddit | u/mznh
“Break protocol? Why not. Probably the coolest thing he’s ever done,” commented u/littlekatie3, while u/criticallycandid reflected, “Imagine a world where most leaders would accept and give hugs. Where showing emotion or letting your guard down was acceptable and even rewarded. I hope I get to see that world someday!” u/bugsy_mccracken said, “I think that may be his first ever hug. He looks ruddy delighted.”
Image Source: Reddit | u/mandalorbmf
Image Source: King Charles III visits Aberdeen Town House to meet families on October 17, 2022 in Aberdeen, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
During this warmhearted reception, King Charles also expressed his regret to the Black Ferns as New Zealand had not been included in his overseas tour that he was going to take since his accession with Queen Camilla. "I'm extremely sorry I can't come to New Zealand in later October; it's on doctors' orders," he said, referring to his ongoing treatment for cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer in February this year. "But I hope there will be another excuse [to visit the country] before too long. In the meantime, give my love to New Zealand!"
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Pictured: A healthy practice?
Will your current friends still be with you after seven years?
Professor shares how many years a friendship must last before it'll become lifelong
Think of your best friend. How long have you known them? Growing up, children make friends and say they’ll be best friends forever. That’s where “BFF” came from, for crying out loud. But is the concept of the lifelong friend real? If so, how many years of friendship will have to bloom before a friendship goes the distance? Well, a Dutch study may have the answer to that last question.
Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst and his team in the Netherlands did extensive research on friendships and made some interesting findings in his surveys and studies. Mollenhorst found that over half of your friendships will “shed” within seven years. However, the relationships that go past the seven-year mark tend to last. This led to the prevailing theory that most friendships lasting more than seven years would endure throughout a person’s lifetime.
In Mollenhorst’s findings, lifelong friendships seem to come down to one thing: reciprocal effort. The primary reason so many friendships form and fade within seven-year cycles has much to do with a person’s ages and life stages. A lot of people lose touch with elementary and high school friends because so many leave home to attend college. Work friends change when someone gets promoted or finds a better job in a different state. Some friends get married and have children, reducing one-on-one time together, and thus a friendship fades. It’s easy to lose friends, but naturally harder to keep them when you’re no longer in proximity.
Some people on Reddit even wonder if lifelong friendships are actually real or just a romanticized thought nowadays. However, older commenters showed that lifelong friendship is still possible:
“I met my friend on the first day of kindergarten. Maybe not the very first day, but within the first week. We were texting each other stupid memes just yesterday. This year we’ll both celebrate our 58th birthdays.”
“My oldest friend and I met when she was just 5 and I was 9. Next-door neighbors. We're now both over 60 and still talk weekly and visit at least twice a year.”
“I’m 55. I’ve just spent a weekend with friends I met 24 and 32 years ago respectively. I’m also still in touch with my penpal in the States. I was 15 when we started writing to each other.”
“My friends (3 of them) go back to my college days in my 20’s that I still talk to a minimum of once a week. I'm in my early 60s now.”
“We ebb and flow. Sometimes many years will pass as we go through different things and phases. Nobody gets buttsore if we aren’t in touch all the time. In our 50s we don’t try and argue or be petty like we did before. But I love them. I don’t need a weekly lunch to know that. I could make a call right now if I needed something. Same with them.”
Maintaining a friendship for life is never guaranteed, but there are ways, psychotherapists say, that can make a friendship last. It’s not easy, but for a friendship to last, both participants need to make room for patience and place greater weight on their similarities than on the differences that may develop over time. Along with that, it’s helpful to be tolerant of large distances and gaps of time between visits, too. It’s not easy, and it requires both people involved to be equally invested to keep the friendship alive and from becoming stagnant.
As tough as it sounds, it is still possible. You may be a fortunate person who can name several friends you’ve kept for over seven years or over seventy years. But if you’re not, every new friendship you make has the same chance and potential of being lifelong.