Father and son meet Princess of Wales during Three Peaks Challenge
An 11-year-old boy named Ted and his father encountered the Princess of Wales three times while completing the Three Peaks Challenge for charity.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
An 11-year-old boy named Ted, who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair, and his father Pete had an extraordinary encounter with the Princess of Wales while completing the Three Peaks Challenge for charity. The pair, along with a team of 16 friends, climbed Britain's three highest peaks: Snowdon, Ben Nevis, and Scafell Pike. During their trek, they met the princess three times. Ted said, "At first I didn't recognise her, but when I did recognise her, I thought it was like one of the best moments of my life." The princess asked Ted if he was too cold and noted that many others were still in t-shirts. She later donated to their chosen charity, Molly Ollie's, which supports children with cancer, and left a personal message. Kensington Palace contacted the family for a JustGiving link, and within minutes a donation and message arrived. Ted's father described the royal gesture as "quite rare." Ted had previously met Prince William at Aston Villa's stadium, Villa Park. The family began their challenge journey five years ago with a wheelchair race at Snowdon, which they won after three attempts. They completed Ben Nevis last year and then decided to take on the Three Peaks. Ted is now thinking about his next challenge, possibly Everest. The princess's repeated appearances and donation have made the experience unforgettable for Ted, who said, "I just think it's like one of the best moments of everyone's life in the whole world."
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| Ted and his father met the Princess of Wales three times during the Three Peaks Challenge. | |
| Ted is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair. | |
| The princess donated to their charity, Molly Ollie's, and left a personal message. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West covered the story as a heartwarming human-interest piece, focusing on Ted's determination and the surprise royal encounter. The first broadcast included the detail that the princess donated to the charity and left a personal message, which was omitted in the later shorter bulletins. The tone was consistently positive and uplifting, with the presenter calling Ted 'unstoppable' and 'well done'.
- “At first I didn't recognise her, but when I did recognise her, I thought it was like one of the best moments of my life.”
- “Kensington Palace contacted me and asked me for a just giving link, which I gave them, and then within a few minutes later we got a personal message for her and a donation, which I think is quite rare from the sounds of things.”
- “I just think it's like one of the best moments of like everyone's life in the whole world.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.