The Happy Pod: Meeting a princess while climbing a mountain

**Holly Gibbs** (0:00)
This is the HappyPod from the BBC World Service. I'm Holly Gibbs, and in this edition, a chance encounter with royalty.

**Pete Haslam** (0:14)
I was just dumbfounded, to be honest. Because she had all the walking gear on, I think I might have just walked past her, to be honest. But yeah, she was lovely. She was being very motherly to Ted, seeing if he was warm enough.

**Holly Gibbs** (0:26)
How a family met the UK's future queen while climbing a mountain. Also, why a man from the US decided to skateboard across Africa.

**Jason Vanporppal** (0:35)
I want them to feel inspired, knowing that that skate park was built off of this chasing a dream. I want people to skate that knowing they could do way more than what they believe they can do.

**Holly Gibbs** (0:46)
Plus, how an unusual object saved a man's life at sea.

**Ivor Gwyn** (0:50)
He had a cool box and he was able to hold on to that. When he was in the water for about four hours, just surviving that is pretty remarkable.

**Holly Gibbs** (0:58)
Double the love as twins marry twins in Nigeria. And the children who went on a school trip to a star-studded movie premiere.

**Dwayne Johnson** (1:08)
I'm with the coolest kids in the world, St. Greg's Primary. Here they are, look.

**Daniel Woodrow** (1:14)
We just met The Rock.

**Holly Gibbs** (1:21)
It's not often you stumble across royalty, but one family did so while climbing the highest mountain in the UK.
Pete Haslam was carrying his paraplegic son, Ted, in his wheelchair to the top of Ben Nevis when they met Catherine, Princess of Wales. And it wasn't just a one-off encounter, they passed each other twice the next day too.

**Jason Vanporppal** (1:42)
Congratulations.

**Catherine, Princess of Wales** (1:43)
Yeah, well done.
How are you doing, Ted? You're not too cold.

**Holly Gibbs** (2:07)
Catherine was doing the same challenge, known as the Three Peaks, in aid of the hospital where she was treated for cancer.

**Catherine, Princess of Wales** (2:14)
Lots of people have asked me why I'm doing this challenge, and partly it's personal. I'm so grateful to be here, to be strong enough to walk these hills. But more importantly, it's to give something back and acknowledge really all the incredible work going on up and down this country.
I've met some incredible people, those people who are living with and beyond cancer. And I know personally how difficult that journey is. And I really wanted to use this opportunity as my way of contributing to all the wonderful work that's going on. And in particular, to support the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, an organisation very dear to me, but who do extraordinary work supporting those living with and beyond the disease.

**Holly Gibbs** (3:12)
Pete, Ted and 15 of their friends and family trekked around 37 kilometres to raise money for a children's charity which donated play equipment to Ted. Ted was left paralysed at the age of three after he was diagnosed with an aggressive spinal tumour.
Princess Catherine has made a donation to the cause, saying the people she met were inspiring. Ted and Pete spoke to the BBC's Sarah Julian.

**Ted Haslam** (3:36)
So when we were walking down from Ben Nevis, we met at a place where it was like a perfect place to stop and talk. So it was a really good place where we stopped. Then we met at that.
And then I was going for a hike. We were ahead of her and then she got like in 20 minutes. And then when we were walking up and she was coming down, we stopped again and we had like a one minute chat. And in Ben Nevis, it was about a five minute chat. So yeah.

**Pete Haslam** (4:16)
Yeah, it was lovely.

**Sarah Julian** (4:17)
What was she like, Ted? What was it like to talk to her?

**Ted Haslam** (4:22)
It was very funny because it was like she was the princess of ours and I didn't realise it. But when I did realise it, I thought it was just amazing and incredible at the same time.

**Sarah Julian** (4:38)
Well, it is. Yeah.
So you were chatting more, Pete, without quite realising who she was?

**Pete Haslam** (4:43)
To be honest, the first time that we ran into her, I was at the back of the group and I obviously knew that we'd stop to speak to someone, but I didn't know who they were speaking to. A good 30 seconds must have passed before they called me forward. I was just dumbfounded, to be honest. Because she had all the walking gear on, you're not necessarily looking at other people that you recognise. I think I might have just walked past her, to be honest. But I think she initiated the conversation with our group because obviously, for her, again, seeing a little lad in a wheelchair, being carried around the mountain by 16 burly blokes, she's going to want to see what's going on.