Prince William and Michael Phelps have something special in common: fatherhood! The British royal and retired Olympic swimmer crossed paths at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday (Dec. 18), where they bonded over their little ones.
The famous dads and Michael’s wife, Nicole Johnson, chatted backstage at the sporting event, where the American couple told Prince George’s father that the trip across the pond marked their first without their seven-month-old son, Boomer.
The pair met at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
“Oh, I can see why the retirement is looming,” the Duke of Cambridge joked after asking how old their baby is. “Never get you out of the house again!” The Duchess of Cambridge’s husband presented the Olympic champion with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event held in Birmingham, England.
“It’s also a particular privilege to be here tonight Michael to give you your Lifetime Achievement Award,” William said on stage before presenting the US athlete with the honour. “You’re one of the greatest sporting icons the world has ever had. Your 23 gold medals, never mind all the other colours, pales into sheer superhuman history.”
The royal dad of two added, “You should be so proud of your achievements and it will be many years, if ever before anyone stands here again and calls you the greatest athlete in history so many congratulations and hopefully your retirement gives somebody else the chance now.” It’s been an exciting year for Michael, who welcomed his first child in May and took home five gold medals in Rio, bringing his total count to 28 overall.
In addition, he also married former beauty queen Nicole Johnson in a secret wedding ceremony.
Michael won the Lifetime Achievement Award
Following the BBC awards, the 31-year-old athlete took to his Instagram account to share a photo of himself on stage with Prince William and Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe. Attached to the post, the gold medalist wrote, “Such an honour to have been presented the BBC #spoty Lifetime Achievement Award from The Duke of Cambridge & one of the greatest, Ian Thorpe. What an amazing way to cap off my 2016!!”
