Princess Anne warned Andy Murray not to poke her eye out while he held a Union Jack flag close to her head.
The British number one tennis player has admitted he needs to practice holding aloft the iconic object before tonight’s Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony after nearly taking the Princess Royal’s head off while posing for Team GB pictures next to her.
He said: "I feel very proud and humble, because I genuinely wasn’t expecting it, and it’s a big responsibility.
"But I hope I make a better job of it tomorrow night than I did in practice the other day, although I will have to blame the photographers for what happened there.
"I ended up putting the flag in front of Princess Anne’s face. There was a big point on one end and I think she said something like, ‘Make sure you don’t poke my eye out.’
"I’ll try and get a bit of practice in before the opening ceremony."
Cycling star Sir Chris Hoy carried the flag for Great Britain during the London 2012 opening ceremony, and he has issued Murray with some words of advice.
He wrote on Twitter: "Many congratulations @andy_murray on being chosen as the @TeamGB flag bearer, don’t forget it has to be single arm and no holster! (sic)"
Despite Murray nearly taking Anne’s eye out, she saw the funny side of his inability to hold the flag properly and was spotted chuckling away as he was directed by the photographer how to hold it.
Princess Anne warned Murray about eye
