Parents recall moment starstruck nine-year-old son crawled away from the Queen
“Someone just walked away from the Queen. So no one's really sure how much they can laugh..."
TV presenters Carrie and David Grant have recalled the toe-curling moment their overwhelmed son crawled away on his hands and knees when he came face-to-face with the Queen. Speaking ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations the broadcasting duo re-lived the unforgettable moments they met royalty. Carrie and David reflected on their son's unforgettable royal encounter which made headlines around the world. The couple had been invited to the opening of a new Coram centre in East London, a charity which has been supporting vulnerable children for 280 years and is Britain’s is the UK's oldest children's charity. Carrie and David are parents to four children - three biological, and one adopted.
'Make sure you just walk away'
“We've got four children with special needs,” Carrie told ITV News London. “And when you parent the kinds of children we have you have a different way of parenting. “So our big thing at that time with our adopted son, who was nine at the time, was to say to him ‘Nathan, if you feel stressed, don't hit out. Make sure you just walk away’,” Carrie explained. The Queen arrived to open the new Coram centre and everyone waited in line to be introduced. “The Queen's coming and our nine-year-old is standing in front of us and the Queen makes her way down the line, he's watching her, just watching her,” David explained. “Carrie is getting ready to curtsy and I'm getting ready to do a little bow and chat,” he added. Next came a moment where few knew how to react - Nathan dropped to his knees, turned around and crawled away from the Queen into another room. “Everyone kind of laughs, but kind of titters in a way that like because what would the Queen say?” said Carrie. “Someone just walked away from the Queen. So no one's really sure how much they can laugh. “It felt like it went on for five hours. It was actually a mere ten seconds. Nathan goes to a side room, turns round almost to camera and goes by, slams the door on the Queen!” Carrie added. Nathan’s unexpected departure made headlines around the world following the December 2018 incident, trended for days online, and led to the couple being interviewed on Australian, American and Canadian TV.
Carrie said: “Afterwards people asked ‘why did your child walk away?’ “For us it was a total triumph because could you imagine if he hadn't walked away!” David joked: “We'd be in the Tower of London now!” In another royal encounter, the couple recall worrying whether or not the Queen was enjoying the music as they belted out a medley of songs at Buckingham Palace ahead of the Commonwealth Games. “We were singing for the Queen and just going into Buckingham Palace, let alone meeting the Queen, was so nerve-wracking,” Carrie said. “We went inside and even popping to the loo felt like the most exciting thing to me! This is the Queen's loo! “We were there and we rehearsed so much for this gig. “I remember the first time just seeing the Queen and feeling so nervous and having to sing for her and there's this wonderful photograph which was taken and it's me singing for the Queen. “And the Queen is behind me, looking ever so slightly bored!” Carrie added.
David joked that the Queen was probably cold, wondering what everyone was doing in her house and thinking about when it was going to end. “The funniest thing is both Carrie and I were singing and the Queen was on a podium behind us,” David said. “And there's every temptation to turn around and look and see what the Queen's doing. Does she like it? Is she clapping along to the music? “You're facing up front so you can't see! So every time there was a bit of choreography where I could turn I’d check the Queen out. “And, yes, same expressions as before!” David explained.
The Queen watched Carrie’s group ‘United Colours of Sound’ perform in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace as part of celebrations in the run up to the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It was a spectacular event, complete with fireworks launched from the palace roof. The monarch handed a baton to Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, at the start of a 58,000-mile relay through 23 Commonwealth countries and back to the United Kingdom for the opening of the Games in Manchester. It was an occasion many people involved wanted to remember. “Everyone wants to take home a souvenir from Buckingham Palace. So people are taking like a little bit of toilet paper, or spoons. One of the members of staff said ‘yeah, we know that, that's why we have lots of spoons!’” Carrie explained. Carrie and David said the Queen’s involvement with charities was important as her presence brought so much attention to good causes. They had a message for the Queen too for her jubilee. “We’re called the United Kingdom. And yet in so many ways, socially and politically, and we're a divided kingdom. And yet the Queen, you are the centrifugal force that holds it together,” David said.
New episodes of The Royal Rota are released every week - listen and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.