Owner of Giorgio's Ristorante Italiano in Leeds shares comical story about meeting King Charles

George Psarias is the man behind Giorgio's Ristorante Italiano in Otley Road and also owned Greek restaurant Olive Tree. The upcoming coronation has stirred up fond memories of when he interacted with King Charles at the Great Yorkshire Show back in 2019.

He had been doing a cooking demonstration when the eldest son of the late Queen Elizabeth II arrived alongside his wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort. Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, George explained: “I was doing a demonstration, I think I was doing it on halloumi recipes, at the Great Yorkshire Show. I was just finishing it when he arrived with Camilla. Obviously, everyone stood up in a line and I did as well. He went past and was very close - probably two feet away.

"I don't know what came over me but I just spoke, politely, I welcomed him to the Great Yorkshire Show. I said 'welcome and thanks for coming, we're very pleased to see you here’, in Greek. He said 'aaaahhhh' and pointed his finger at me. He has a sense of humour, like the Queen. He has a serious role but he still has fun and I knew that. When he went away, I thought 'what did I do?'.”

King Charles has Greek ancestry and is the great-grandson of King George I of Greece, the first monarch of the Glucksburg House of Greece.

George is not the only member of his family to have interacted with a member of the Royal Family, as his sister-in-law Loulla, also of the restaurant industry, was invited to Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth II. Although it was expected that guests waited to be spoken to by the Queen, Loulla asked whether the monarch whether she liked Greek food – and was given an empathic answer of “yes, I do”.

George said: “I respected the Queen a lot. She was great in her role.”

King Charles III's coronation will take place on Saturday, May 6, at Westminster Abbey.