“It was entirely in keeping with the person who, in 1997, had hugged Nelson Mandela and, later that year, famously ignored royal protocol by patting Prince (later King) Charles on the backside at a Prince’s Trust gala.”
The incident became one of the most memorable moments from Geri’s time in the group, with reports suggesting she had pinched the then Prince of Wales.
She later insisted it had been a pat, telling The Times in 2016: “Patting him on the bottom was against royal protocol but we’re all human.”
Horner and Geri’s connection led to dinner in 2014, when conversation proved so easy that the hours slipped away.
