King Charlesmet some young well-wishers who came out to see him in a mini model of the royal family’s go-to car brand this weekend.
On Sunday, the King, 75, stepped out solo to attend church at St. Mary Magdalene near Sandringham House in Norfolk, where the royal familytraditionally convenes for Christmas mass. King Charles seemed to be in good spirits during the stroll, especially when he met two young brothers traveling in a toy Land Rover.
“It was a very surreal experience,” said Georgina, per PA viaBBC. “We went to see [King Charles] go in, and we weren’t planning on seeing him come out, but because he made such a beeline for the Landy to start with, we thought we had to go back and show him it.”
King Charles chats with the Ward family as he attends the Sunday service at St Mary Magdalene on Jan. 7.Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty
Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty
The local nurse from Norfolk added that the King “came back and was asking questions about whether it was handmade and whether it ran, whether it used a pedal and if we’d crashed into any trees,” and said her sons were “a bit shell-shocked” to meet the sovereign.
“We go out with it most Sundays, so it just made sense to take it today and show the King,” Georgina said of the adventures that William, 6, and Oliver, 3, share behind the wheel.
While King Charles is known to chat with members of the public while making his way to and from the church at St. Mary Magdalene (which is the royal family’s go-to church during stays at Sandringham, theirprivate residencein the Norfolk countryside), the miniature Land Rover likely caught his eye. The royal family has been unofficially affiliated with the British car brand sinceKing George VI, andQueen Elizabethdrove her own Range Roverinto her 90s.
Prince Philipalso had a lifelong love for the SUVs, which reflected his interest in engineering and technology. According to Buckingham Palace, the late Duke of Edinburgh spent 18 years working on thespecially modified Land Rover DefenderTD 130 which he wished to be used to transport his coffin at his funeral. The request was honored following his death at age 99 in April 2021.
While King Charles andQueen Camillaare known to travel in their burgundy Bentley State Limousine,Prince Williamseems to have inherited his grandfather’s affinity for the Land Rover brand. The Prince of Wales and his wife,Kate Middleton, often arrive at official engagements in their navy Range Rover and have favored the luxury car since their eldest child,Prince George, was born.
Princess Kate, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Princes William and Prince Louis attend the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 25, 2023 in Sandringham.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty
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On Christmas Day, Prince William and Princess Kate brought Prince George, 10,Princess Charlotte, 8, andPrince Louis, 5, to church at St. Mary Magdalene, where King Charles and Queen Camillaled the chargefor the second year in a row.
The King and Queen, 76, headed to church again for the New Year’s Eve Mattins service on Dec. 31, signaling that their winter stay at Sandringham House continued. Queen Elizabeth was known to stay at Sandringham through Feb. 6, the date her father King George VI died in 1952 and she became Queen, and Charles might be following the same schedule.
source: people.com
