When your sister marries a royal, you are plunged into a new world where Christmases and birthdays include mingling with the uppermost echelons of society. On Saturday, James Middleton recalled a hilarious royal blunder he experienced alongside his sister, Pippa Middleton.
The entrepreneur, 37, recounted a time when the late Queen Elizabeth was hosting his sister, the Princess of Wales' birthday tea, but he and Pippa had to make a quick dash to Sandringham after a late flight.
© George Pimentel"Pippa and I were late for Catherine's birthday party, which, in the normal run of things, wouldn't have mattered too much, but this time the Queen had kindly offered to host the teatime gathering at Sandringham.
"We'd been on a late-night flight to Gatwick from France and arrived bleary-eyed and sleepless at the airport, then I drove us both to Bucklebury so we could pack.
© GettyAfter panicking about ironing and a lost cufflink, the sibling duo dashed out the door, arriving 'breathless and flustered' with 'barely any time to run up and change.'
James admitted he had been rehearsing what he was going to say to the Queen the entire journey up to Norfolk.
"I bounded downstairs two at a time and into the room where everyone was assembled for tea, almost running smack into Her Majesty. She and Prince Philip had just got up to leave when I blundered in with Pippa behind me.
"In my blind panic, I blurted: 'I'm so sorry we're late, Your Royal Majesty,' which caused everyone to stifle their laughter.
"I heard a snort of laughter and looked past the Queen to see everyone in the room stifling their giggles." The Queen replied: 'Oh, how lovely to see you, James. You must be hungry. Make sure you have something to eat.'
James and the Queen appeared to get on very well, as he also mentioned doing a puzzle with her during one Christmas.
"It was the sort of activity I'd have enjoyed with my own grandparents, all four of whom had died within the space of three years when I was a teenager," James said.
"It still feels surreal," he added, "the fact that I was there with the Queen. I look back on it with amazement."
