For the most part Ed Sheeran seems like a well-behaved chap - the sort of mate you could introduce to your parents and have them asking 'how's Ed getting on' for decades after.
True to form, he was on his best behaviour at Buckingham Palace yesterday when he went to collect his MBE, even covering up his extensive tattoos - but there are some manners you just can't teach.
That's because unbeknownst to him, the ginger singer accidentally broke royal protocol while meeting Prince Charles to pick up his award. Naughty naughty.
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Credit: PA
In the picture above, you can clearly see that once he received his medal from Prince Charles, Ed touched the future king's arm.
While this informal touch wasn't a fatal error, according to royal etiquette, ideally you shouldn't touch a royal beyond a formal handshake.
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"There are no obligatory codes of behaviour when meeting The Queen or a member of the royal family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms," the royal website states.
"For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way."
Prince Charles clearly wasn't too fussed by the faux pas as he made Ed a Member of the Order of the British Empire at yesterday afternoon's Investiture Ceremony.
Ed was given the honour for his services to the music industry as he was revealed to be the highest streamed artist on Spotify this year - no mean feat.
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Sheeran secured a mind-boggling 6.3 billion streams on the music app this year, leading Spotify's CEO to proclaim 2017 'The Year of Ed Sheeran'.
Credit: PA
For better or worse, the 'Shape of You' singer's work has been unavoidable this year and a lot of that is down to sheer hard work - he's set to play a concert in New York today.
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"I don't have a vast amount of talent compared to other people," he explained yesterday. "I think talent is like 30 percent of it and persistence, drive and self-belief are the other ones, which I guess are all the same thing."
Ed's still young career has been phenomenally impressive so far and so no one can begrudge him his award - even if his manners still need some work.
And he explained that one of his family members would have been particularly proud of his achievement, if he were still around.
"My grandfather was a massive royalist," he said. "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."
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He may not have got the etiquette right, but if he carries on in this vein Ed can always get it right next time he visits the Palace - is a future knighthood on the cards...?
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Prince Charles, Entertainment, Buckingham Palace, Music, the royal family, Ed Sheeran