Footy legend Mark Geyer reveals why he clashed with King Charles’ security guards when he met the monarch

NRL legend Mark Geyer got King Charles’ security guards offside when he broke royal protocol while meeting the monarch in Sydney on Tuesday.

The Penrith Panthers great turned radio star got to shake hands with Charles III as he attended an invite-only barbecue in Parramatta – and he took things a little too far with his over-enthusiastic greeting as the pair shook hands.

‘The protocol was that you can only do one, two, three shakes, and then you let go,’ Geyer said on Triple M’s Mick & MG in the Morning show on Wednesday.

‘I went one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and then security grabbed my hands and took it away from me.

‘That’s when I said, “Hey, don’t touch the merchandise, baby”,’ Geyer joked.

Geyer said NSW Premier Chris Minns introduced him to the King as a former professional rugby league player before the two had a hilarious chat.

‘He said, “You look like you could still play”,’ Geyer recalled.

‘I said I’ve been retired for a while and he said, “Why did you have to retire? Was it your knees, was it your back?”

However, the pair were soon laughing as they had a hilarious chat about why Geyer had to retire from rugby league

‘I said no, it was my groin, and he started laughing and said, “I know how you feel!”‘

Asked about what it was like to shake hands with the King, ‘MG’ said, ‘Very strong handshake.

‘My first thought was, “How big is his hand? My hand feels like a junior burger inside a Big Mac.”‘

Geyer was joined at the function by Aussie cricket star David Warner, comedian Ahn Do and Blue Wiggle Anthony Field.

King Charles had another exchange about footy during his tour, which finished up as he flew out to Samoa on Wednesday.

School student Leo Turner, 12, asked the King if he knew anything about AFL when the pair met in Canberra’s Botanic Gardens on Monday – and his response was succinct. 

‘Yes, I’ve heard of it,’ the monarch said.

Leo then asked the King to name his favourite sport, to which the 75-year-old replied, ‘I can’t do much now. Too many injuries. I used to sit on a horse.’

Geyer (pictured celebrating after Penrith’s 1991 grand final win) also revealed the monarch’s hands are so big they made his mitts ‘feel like a junior burger inside a Big Mac’ 

Then-Prince Charles joined his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, at a historic Sunday Aussie Rules game back in 1970.

The Queen attended the season-opening clash between reigning premiers Richmond and Fitzroy in the VFL at the MCG alongside her late husband Prince Philip, Charles and Princess Anne.

The royals arrived in a cavalcade, with strict instructions to be followed – and the occasion rattled some of the footy players.

Roger Dean was the Tigers captain that year and recalled how flustered he got when tasked with introducing his teammates.

‘I thought, I hope I remember all the players’ names,’ Dean said.

‘I couldn’t believe I was talking to royalty.

‘He [Prince Charles] seemed nice enough, he didn’t say much, just being courteous to the players, ‘Enjoying the game?’ and ‘It’s a very hard game, isn’t it’.

‘It was pretty formal. It probably bored him to snores.’