Sam Ryder has shared details of a chat he had with Kate Middleton backstage at the recent Platinum Party at the Palace concert.
Fresh from his stellar performance at Eurovision, where he finished second to red hot favourites Ukraine, TikTok sensation Sam was invited to join the bill for the massive event in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's seven decades on the throne. The gig was one of the major highlights of the Queen's Jubilee weekend, which culminated in Her Majesty making an emotional appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, along with senior members of the Royal Family, including Kate and her husband and children.
A night earlier the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took their place in the eats outside the palace to see Sam deliver a barnstorming rendition of Space Ma at the Platinum Party at the Palace, which earned him rave reviews from viewers watching at home. Those watching in the flesh and in their living rooms saw Sam perform an epic guitar solo as he was flanked by a large dance troupe, before changing the lyrics to "Space Ma'am," at the end in a nod to The Queen.
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That was all seen on camera but now, Sam, who has just announced a UK tour, has dished on an unexpected encounter he had with Kate behind the scenes. Speaking to People, he explained that a member of Buckingham Palace staff orchestrated the meeting, having found out that Sam had never met royalty before.
And then revealing all on what the Duchess actually said to him, the 32-year-old said: "She was just saying that they all appreciated the way that the team had handled the Eurovision journey, and that meant so much to all of us. What I gather is a lot of the members of the royal family had seen Eurovision and were supporting my song from home, which means a lot."
"It was incredible, and it was so inspiring to get the encouragement from the royal family because they stand for such similar themes that Eurovision celebrates as well, like unity, togetherness, and solidarity.."
Sam added that Kate also joked the staff would need a vacuum cleaner to pick up all of the stones falling off his eye-catching jump suit.
Sam's second finish place in Turin gave the UK it's best Eurovision finish since Imaani in 1998 and Space Man went onto peak at number 2 in the UK charts.
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