The Prince of Wales delivered a significant boost to BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James’s Comic Relief fundraising efforts, making a surprise appearance on his tandem bike as he cycles across the UK. William joined the broadcaster just north of Doncaster, pedalling through the South Yorkshire countryside as James undertakes an eight-day, 1,000km challenge from Weymouth to Edinburgh.
Joining the presenter on the fifth day of his arduous journey, William commended James’s dedication, stating: "What you’ve done is set an example about helping out. That’s the thing. It’s volunteering some of your time, putting yourself through a bit of pain at the same time, and supporting others. It’s something we do very well in this country, but we don’t really shout about it enough."
He added: "This challenge helps everyone see that. And it’s an amazing team effort. Huge well done, Greg." On BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday, William revealed that James had already raised more than £1 million for the charity.
James, still reeling from the unexpected royal companion, recounted the surreal experience. He told William as their ride concluded: "I didn’t kill the future king, William, thank you so much, that was a real, real treat. Did you feel safe? You felt secure?"
William, confirming his safety on the tandem, quipped: "I was worried, there’s a few potholes you hadn’t seen, but apart from that, we were okay, and I can tell you, you’ve raised £1,000,020."
The DJ described how he and his team’s "jaws were on the floor" following the surprise. He revealed he had jokingly suggested the tandem ride to the Prince during a previous Radio One show focused on suicide prevention. "After we recorded it, I said to him, ‘I’ve got this, this little tandem challenge coming up’, and jokingly, I went, ‘get yourself some lycra on, come on the tandem with me’, and he laughed about it, and that was obviously the last I heard."
James detailed the moment of the surprise: "And then today, only a couple of people in the touring party knew about it, and suddenly we had to dive off the route, and I was like, ‘guys, what are we doing? I was going really well there, like, I need to get going’. And we went down this sort of little dirt track, essentially into a what was a truck stop car park, and Prince William was just standing in the middle of Yorkshire."
He noted that the Prince of Wales was not in lycra, but "sporting attire," and described the ride as a "weird dream." James confessed: "That was the tightest I’ve gripped the handlebars for the whole week. I was like, and then I had to sort of interview him at the same time…"
Reflecting on the encounter, James concluded: "When he left, I just sort of sat down quietly and just thought, fair play, he did not need to do that, but it’s really amazing that he has sort of put his all into this challenge and also amplified it, because this is going to spread the whole message of this adventure far and wide." Earlier in the week, the Prince had sent a letter to James, wishing him luck as he embarked on his ambitious challenge.
