Crossword Genius

Begging when meeting monarch (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

asking

'begging' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'when meeting monarch' is the wordplay.
'when' becomes 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked').
'meeting' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'monarch' becomes 'king' (male monarch).
'as'+'king'='ASKING'

(Other definitions for asking that I've seen before include "Direction a question" , "For the ___; freely available" , "Putting question or requesting" , "Making request" , "Appealing" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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