King Charles has used the Royal Train for the first time since starting his reign – travelling to Manchester.
The 74 year old monarch journeyed overnight from Ayr in Scotland, close to where the 18th-century propertyDumfries House, part of The Prince’s Foundation, is based.
A group of local dignitaries were waiting to greet the King, who looked relaxed as he stepped from the locomotive wearing a tailored navy suit, which he paired with a white shirt and a pale pink tie.
The civic line-up included High Sheriff of Greater Manchester Lorraine Worsley-Carter, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
Charles andQueen Consort Camilla travelled by train to take part in a series of royal engagements across Greater Manchester on Friday.
The royal couple visited Bolton to celebrate 150 years of the borough's town hall and then later the world's biggest Corn Flakes factory in Trafford Park.
The trip to the Kellogg's plant was intended to mark the centenary of the US company introducing its cereals to the UK in 1922.
King Charles, who unveiled a plaque and appeared to be in high spirts during the engagement, sparked laughter when he joked: "Sorry, I'm a year late.”
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to travel by train, leaving Slough at noon on June 13 1842 and travelling to London’s Paddington Station.
Victoria had been persuaded on board by Prince Albert, a veteran of rail travel fascinated by the new technology.
Since the Victorian era, the royal family has enjoyed its own train, with the present royal carriages coming into service for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.
The royal train has nine carriages, including bedrooms, dining-rooms, and a study which has been used by the lateQueen and King Charles.
In December 2020,Prince William andKate Middleton boarded thefamous royal train for a festive three-day tour of Britain.
Before that, the train had not been used since 2018, when it transported the Queen and Meghan Markle to Chester for theirfirst ever joint royal engagement.
The King’s train trip to Greater Manchester on Friday was only his second public engagement since the release of Prince Harry’s controversial book Spare – which brought anew round of attacks on the Royal Family.
Among the most explosive allegations in the book was one claim thatWilliam attacked Harry in a row over Meghan Markle.
Another allegation was that King Charleswent against his sons' wishes by tying the knot with second wife Camilla in 2005.
Elsewhere in the book, Harry alleged his father told his late motherPrincess Dianathat 'my work is done' after shegave birth to a 'spare' second son.
The memoir also contains a number ofintimate revelations about the King – as well as someilluminating insights into royal life.
Harry’s bombshell memoir broke records on its release – with the English language editionselling more than 1.4 million copies on its first day of publication.
Penguin Random House, who published the explosive autobiography, say the figure is their largest everfirst-day sales total for any non-fiction book.
It has been reported thatKing Charles and Prince William haven't spoken to Prince Harry since Spare was released.
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