Runners and walkers were treated to an “unforgettable” morning as King Charles surprised participants of a monthly parkrun event in Sandringham.
Pictures show the monarch wearing cream trousers, and a smart brown coat and shoes, as he joined the participants of the ‘Sandringham 5K Your Way, Move Against Cancer’ for tea and cake on Saturday morning at the Sandringham Visitor Centre.
Co-event director, Sarah Byatt, said: “We were celebrating our almost one-year anniversary with coffee and cake at the Sandringham Visitor Centre when we were joined by His Majesty The King who came to offer his congratulations!”
The event, held on the last Saturday of each month, is part of a national initiative supporting people impacted by cancer, along with their families.
On the official Parkrun UK page on X, the organisation posted the following caption alongside King Charles posing with attendees.
It said: “Not every day you get royal approval at parkrun. This morning, His Majesty The King joined Sandringham parkrunners in the cafe to offer his congratulations, including to the Sandringham 5k Your Way group as they marked their one-year anniversary.”
The local group which launched in February 2024, was celebrating its one year anniversary and the event sees people walk, jog or run 5km (3.1 miles), and is organised by volunteers.
Sophie Hansell, ambassador for the parkrun, told the BBC a member of staff at Sandringham had written a letter to the King inviting him to January’s event.
Mrs Hansell said she and other members of the group could relate to what he was going through, having experienced cancer themselves. King Charles was diagnosed with cancer last February and began treatment soon afterwards.
The King attended Sunday service at St Mary the Virgin church near the monarch’s Norfolk estate on Sunday. Charles, 76, greeted members of the public outside the church in Flitcham and smiled and waved at crowds.
He was accompanied by Reverend Canon Paul Williams, as they walked into the church together, but Queen Camilla was notably absent from the church service.
Charles kept warm in a grey and brown wool coat that he wore over a light blue shirt and a tie, along with a pair of grey trousers and tan shoes.
