Ed Sheeran Got Too Handsy With Prince Charles and Breached Royal Protocol

Ed Sheeran should probably just stick to the safety of his castle on the hill from now on.

The singer-songwriter breached royal protocol while being awarded an MBE—that's Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for all you non-Brits—at Buckingham Palace on Thursday (December 7).

While the most-streamed artist of 2017 was being awarded for his service to the music industry and various charities, he shook hands with Prince Charles, inadvertently breaking a royal rule when he innocently reached out to hold the Prince of Wales' forearm.

Thankfully, Sheeran wasn't penalized for the otherwise innocuous gaffe. Instead, as he tells it, he had a pleasant conversation with His Royal Highness.

"He was asking me if I was still selling lots of records and I told him I've got a concert in New York tomorrow, and he was quite surprised I was flying after this," the pop artist told the BBC.

“My grandfather was a massive royalist," Sheeran added. "He had all the commemorative plates and stuff, and he died on this day four years ago, so it's actually quite a nice full circle thing. I guess he'd be pretty proud."

See the royal snafu, below:

Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Sheeran has run into royal trouble: In November 2016, the Divide star was accidentally sliced with a ceremonial sword by Princess Beatrice during a dinner party at the Duke of York's Royal Lodge in Windsor.

The accident, during which the princess attempted to jokingly knight fellow party guest James Blunt, resulted in a facial scar, which Sheeran has since embraced.

"I quite like the scar," he told iHeartRadio host Elvis Duran in January. "I think it adds [something]!"

Or, as Monty Python's Black Knight would flippantly say, "'Tis but a scratch!"

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