British TV favourites Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly have opened up about a cringeworthy royal moment involving King Charles that still makes them laugh now.
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! duo revealed how an overnight stay at Dumfries House led to an unexpectedly awkward run-in, back when he was still Prince of Wales.
The presenters were filming a documentary about the future king when they were invited to stay over at Dumfries House, the historic Ayrshire estate owned by The King’s Foundation. What followed was not quite the stately experience Ant had in mind.
Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly’s encounter with King Charles
Appearing on Friday’s edition of The Graham Norton Show, Ant explained that the pair had spent a year following Charles for the programme and had built up a good rapport with him.
When they were invited to stay the night ahead of the final interview, Ant said there was no hesitation: “We were like, ‘Hell, yes.’ It was amazing and everything you’d imagine.”
But the dream stay took a turn when Ant decided to try on the dressing gown left in his room. He recalled: “I tried on the robe that was in my room and ran out into the corridor to find Dec and there was the prince. He said, ‘Hello,’ and started talking to me about pruning roses. I was so embarrassed.”
Dec was quick to add another detail from the night, laughing: “We then had wine in the room and got a bit noisy. We took it a bit far and were asked to be quiet!”
Ant and Dec’s appearance at the king’s coronation
Often dubbed TV royalty themselves, Ant and Dec have crossed paths with the real thing more than once.
In May 2023, they were among the guests invited to attend King Charles’ coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
I tried on the robe that was in my room and ran out into the corridor to find Dec and there was the prince.
Speaking to ITV News afterwards, Ant couldn’t hide his excitement: “The view was very good by the way. We were here and there was only one row and then he walked past. They all walked past.”
Dec summed up the occasion simply, adding: “The whole thing, just a fantastic day.”
Before the big event, Dec admitted the invite itself felt surreal: “It’s quite surreal, to get the invite through to come to a coronation, I was like ‘this has got to be a wind up’, somebody has surely thought it’s our time to be wound up and this is it.”
TV duo’s meetings with King Charles
The coronation wasn’t the last time the presenters found themselves chatting with the monarch.
Last year, King Charles spoke with Ant and Dec at a reception for the winners of The King’s Trust Awards 2025 at Buckingham Palace. Both presenters are ambassadors for The King’s Trust.
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At another Buckingham Palace reception in 2024, Dec even managed to crack a joke with the king while apologising for Ant’s absence.
Afterwards, Dec told the press: “I passed on Ant’s apology that he couldn’t be here today because he was at home breastfeeding.
“I don’t know whether I broke royal protocol by giving that information.”
Ant had recently become a dad for the first time after welcoming his son, Wilder, with his wife Anne-Marie.
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