From King Charles' conversation with mountain bikers near Balmoral to Kate's meeting with schoolchildren… and THIS moment with the MailOnline reporter

By Ed Holt

07:07 June 7, 2024, updated 07:07 June 7, 2024

Many people queue for hours just to get a glimpse of the Royal family during their perfectly choreographed engagements.

But some lucky people have had chance encounters with members of the royal family in the most unlikely circumstances.

There were these two cyclists who came across King Charles on a hike near Balmoral, while MailOnline's assistant video editor had her own unexpected interaction with Her Majesty.

As for two American tourists, they had no idea they were talking to Elizabeth II when they met her near Balmoral and asked: “Have you met the Queen?”

Read below for a detailed list of some of these unique encounters with royalty.

Incredible moment cyclists pass King Charles while hiking near Balmoral

Cycling through the Scottish Highlands isn't exactly where you'd expect to come across the King, but for mountain biker Andrew McAvoy and his friends, that's exactly what happened.

Luckily, the YouTuber filmed the unique encounter last September and posted it online.

In the video, Charles could be seen chatting to the bikers after they encountered him while walking around the Balmoral estate.

In typical British fashion, Charles chatted with the group about the weather and revealed some of his childhood memories on the estate, including camping with his late father, Prince Philip, and sister, Princess Anne.

The king also complained about the midges, calling them “horrible.”

King Charles spotted smirking at MailOnline reporter as she tried on bodycon dress

Venturing down Kensington High Street to see the public's reaction to a viral skimpy dress, MailOnline journalist Alicia Watts certainly didn't expect to receive a reaction from the royal.

But while she was on the street last year, Charles drove by in his limousine.

From the backseat, the monarch couldn't hide his surprise after noticing Alicia's mostly see-through mini dress – which had see-through panels across the thighs, stomach, bust and all the way down one side .

Her Majesty was seen giving our cameraman a quizzical look at Alicia's outrageously risky evening outfit.

Alicia said: “He (the king) walked by and apparently he was smiling at me and smiling. I would have loved to have been in that car just to see what he was saying.

Kate interviews primary schoolchildren at Bath train station

Following an engagement in Bath last year, the Princess of Wales passed a group of schoolchildren as she walked through the town's train station.

The footage – which was posted by the Platform Rail organization on Twitter – showed Kate waving to the stunned group.

She then asked, “Where are you going?”

After learning they were waiting for their train to Warminster, Kate gave them a thumbs up and said: “Have a nice school trip!”

The princess added: “What are you learning? One of the children's teachers replied: “Trains and orienteering.”

The 15-second video ends with Kate giving one last wave to the children before rushing to board the train.

Princess Royal takes helicopter to Yorkshire sports center

In 2021, two royal fanatics shared the moment they exchanged “jokes” with “cheeky” Princess Anne during a chance meeting after the royal helicopter landed at a local sports centre.

Emma Dodsworth and Lisa Watkins were finishing work in Molton, North Yorkshire, when they noticed a helicopter coming in to land.

They thought it might have been Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise who was filming the latest installment of his Mission Impossible franchise in the area.

The two men could hardly believe their luck when they followed the helicopter to its landing site and saw Princess Anne getting out of a 4×4 which had stopped a few meters away.

The princess had visited the nearby Jack Berry House, a rehabilitation center for injured jockeys.

After taking time to joke a bit with the gathered crowd, the princess was led across the football field to the helicopter, which then took off.

The Queen's former bodyguard reveals the time she pranked American tourists

During the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, her former bodyguard, Richard Griffin, revealed the monarch's cheeky sense of humor when she played a joke on a group of American tourists who had no idea idea who they were talking to.

He recalled that Queen Elizabeth was hiking near Balmoral when she walked past the tourists.

They did not recognize the monarch and asked her if she lived nearby, to which she replied yes.

Yet when asked if she had met the Queen, the monarch playfully replied: “No, but he has,” pointing to her protection officer.

Mr Griffin told Sky News: “The next thing I knew this guy came over, put his arm around my shoulder and before I saw what was happening he took his camera, gave it to the queen and said: can you take a photo?”

“Anyway, we swapped places and I took a photo of them with the Queen, we never let on, and we said goodbye and Her Majesty said to me : “I would love to be a fly on the wall when he shows this to his friends in America.

Prince William surprises woman during charity walk in Slough

In December last year, a woman who was carrying out a charity walk in memory of her late daughter was surprised by Prince William.

In a video posted to Facebook, Emma Webb could be seen in complete shock as the Prince of Wales appeared out of nowhere to join her on day 13 of a fundraising trek from Wales to London.

She was pulling a life-size horse statue along a pavement near Slough as William appeared behind her.

He shouted “boo” before embracing her with a warm hug.

Ms Webb, who lost her daughter Brodie – a promising rider – aged 16 to suicide in March 2020, wanted to raise awareness of mental health among young people.

She said it meant “everything” that William – a well-known champion of mental health

His 157-mile journey ended just a week after meeting Wills on December 17.