The Prince of Wales high-fived a crowd of schoolchildren who were chanting “William! William!” on a visit to an agricultural show, telling them they were the most vocal he had ever met.
William, 41, arrived by helicopter to the Royal Norfolk Show near Norwich on Thursday, going on a walkabout and presenting prizes to young farmers displaying cattle.
As he went to his waiting Range Rover, having just presented the Queen’s prize to the champion goat and her exhibitor, he was surrounded by excited schoolchildren, with one exclaiming ‘oh my God!’.
William high-fived scores of youngsters, telling them: “You’re the most vocal children I’ve ever met, including my own!”
Earlier, he saw a former air ambulance colleague while meeting a series of emergency service workers.
Recognising air ambulance doctor Neil Berry, William joked ‘oh Lord!’, adding that there were “some familiar faces”.
The prince was an air ambulance pilot for two years from 2015 to 2017, flying helicopter emergency medical service missions for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Dr Berry, 46, who has worked for the service for more than 10 years and flies every week, estimated he had been on between 10 and 50 flights with William.
“I said we miss you, it would be good to have you back,” said Dr Berry, speaking afterwards.
“He said ‘I miss you guys too, I hope everyone’s well’.
“He would love to do stuff like that but he’s obviously got bigger roles that he needs to do.
“It’s great that he got the opportunity in the first place.”
Dr Berry, who also works as a consultant anaesthetist at Ipswich Hospital, said William is a “brilliant guy, brilliant pilot” and it was a “pleasure” to see him again.
“I was hoping he wouldn’t take the mickey out of me too much and I think I got off lightly,” he said. “He’s just a really nice guy and a really good pilot.
“We were lucky to have him and it’s a shame he doesn’t still work with us.
“It’s really close because we’re a minimum of a four-man team, two pilots, doctor and paramedic.
“Most often there’s five of us, either a doctor or a paramedic in training as well.
“We go to the most horrendous things people are likely to see.
“You bond pretty quickly doing that.
“We spoke a lot about mental health.
“He was great – if we went to really rough jobs we would all get in touch including him and we’d follow up how patients were and check everyone was OK.”
During the visit, William also met staff and volunteers from East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, local veterans and Scouts and Girl Guides.
He presented a series of prizes to beef and dairy handlers, with the last trophy being the Queen’s prize to the champion goat and exhibitor.
The trophy, first presented 42 years ago, rotates around the show to a different type of animal each year, with this year being the turn of the goat.
It was won by a two-year-old goat called Teion Meika, who is British Saanen breed, and her handler Teigh O’Neill.
Mr O’Neill, 42, of Holt, Norfolk, said William “was very interested”, adding: “It was nice to see him interacting with everybody.”
William got into a waiting Range Rover after making his way through the crowds of children, pausing to chat and exchange high-fives.
The Royal Norfolk Show, first held in 1847, has been attended by several members of the royal family over the years, including the King in 2016 and the late Queen in 1986.
