King Charles surprises locals at his royal residence

Joggers on their weekly run on the Sandringham estate got quite a surprise when the King turned up to join them.

While His Majesty didn't pull on his running trainers for the occasion, Charles met the Sandringham parkrunners in the café on his Norfolk estate on Saturday.

In a photograph shared by parkrun UK, the monarch can be seen dressed in a beige suit with a brown overcoat as he poses for a snap with the group of runners.

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"Not every day you get royal approval at parkrun. This morning, His Majesty The King joined Sandringham parkrunners in the café to offer his congratulations, including to the Sandringham 5k Your Way group as they marked their one-year anniversary," the caption read.

The weekly 5k run sees participants complete two laps of the course, which takes joggers on a scenic route through the woodland at Sandringham Royal Park.

Parkrun was set up in 2004 by Peter Paul Sinton-Hewitt and the free community 5k run now sees thousands of runners taking part in the event every Saturday morning at 1,308 locations around the UK.

Royals who love to run

Princess Beatrice was the first member of the royal family to take part in the London Marathon, taking on the gruelling 26.2-mile race in honour of the Children in Crisis charity. She completed it dressed as a human caterpillar, alongside 33 other runners.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Edinburgh took on the first mile and a half of the virtual London Marathon in 2020, in aid of her patronage, Mencap.

The Princess of Wales is also said to enjoy jogging, with Kate releasing a video message in the middle of a run in 2021 to mark Children's Mental Health Week.

Prince William, Kate and Prince Harry also took part in a training session with London Marathon runners in 2017. Watch below...

King Frederik of Denmark, who has completed marathons in Copenhagen, New York and Paris, set up Royal Run in his home nation in 2018 and it has become an annual event ever since.