Right before Christmas, audiences were able to tune into the Royal Variety Performance, a show televised from the UK that raises money for charity. Since its first run in 1912, at least one senior member of the royal family has been in attendance.

Royal guests for 2017 were none other than the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Hosted by Miranda Hart, the show featured a slew of entertainers including pop singers Paloma Faith, Seal, and Louis Tomlinson, as well as circus acts, comedians, and child actors from the cast of Annie.

Little did Prince William know that he would be getting in on the act too. When the show opened, Hart was hopeful there would be royal participation in the night’s festivities. During one skit, she was able to get the prince to shout the catchphrase “such fun” on demand from their balcony box above the stage.

As it was all in good fun, both Prince William and Duchess Kate were laughing and enjoying the event. But after a children’s performance of Annie one of the kids had a special request of the jovial prince:

“Please, sir, will you gallop with us?”

And that’s how you get a royal to act goofy in front of a crowd – have a cute kid make the ask! Duchess Kate could not stop smiling as Prince William happily obliged, but not before he turned thirty shades of red. Watch the video to see him strike a pony pose and gallop in his box.

Miranda Hart’s opening remarks sort of foreshadowed the moment when she expressed her wish to see galloping in the London Palladium that night:

“If you know me at all, you know that I want to encourage people to jolly life up where possible because life can be tough, so I expect some galloping in here tonight.

If you don’t know why, it’s because I’m on a life mission for adults to reclaim the gallop from toddlers. Don’t tell me the world wouldn’t be a better place with adults galloping. I offer it up to the young royals as a way to liven up a formal event.”

Better yet, she had a checkbox on her to-do list for Prince William to gallop. It seems her aspirations were met much to the amusement of the audience and the duchess. Who could refuse such a request when it came from such an adorable little girl?

A good sport the entire night, Prince William shook hands and chatted with all the performers at the end of the show. Although this wasn’t the first time he and Duchess Kate attended the show, it was the first time he played along this way.

In fact, this is probably the first time any royal has galloped in the crowd. People really appreciated seeing this side of him.

With this being an annual event, there’s a good chance that fans will see a different royal in attendance for 2018. Perhaps it will be a newlywed Prince Harry and his lady love!

Did you watch the Royal Variety Performance? What do you think of Prince William’s galloping?