‘It’d be cool to see Charlie’: Moment cyclists run into solo King
Mountain bikers have described an unexpected encounter with a hiking King Charles at Balmoral as the monarch joins the Macrons, Mick Jagger and Hugh Grant for a dinner at Versailles.
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A group of mountain bikers have described the moment they ran into a hiking – and solo – King Charles as he walked along a path on the Royal Family’s Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire.
The King, who was decked out in a jacket, flat cap and carrying a trekking stick, stopped for a chat.
Mountain biker Andrew McAvoy shared a video of the interaction online, which happened as he was riding with two friends on the sprawling estate.
According to a report in The Sun, the group were heading for Gelder Shiel – known as the Ernie’s Bothy or the “royal bothy” – a small hut where they could leave some belongings.
Before setting off, McAvoy said: “I think Charlie boy is here because there are guards down there with big assault rifles and stuff like that – it looks pretty cool.
“They probably wouldn’t do that if no one important was here.”
Moments before encountering the King, McAvoy said while riding his bike: “I don’t care for the royals but it would be cool to see Charlie.”
After heading along gravel tracks the group were passed by several Land Rovers.
“I bet that’s some minor royal,” McAvoy’s friend added.
After stopping to drop off some of their belongings at the hut, they encountered King Charles on the Balmoral trails.
When asked if he was still on holidays, King Charles said: “Yes. It is wonderful up here - I like to walk here.”
He then told the cyclists that he had renovated the Gelder Shiel cottage with “the help of the people of Ballater”, telling the men he was “so glad that it works all right”.
King Charles said that he used to camp at the cottage with his late father, Prince Philip, and sister, Princess Anne.
As the men continued their journey, the King said: “Take care. Don’t fall off.”
After the royal encounter, McAvoy said on camera: “That was a king. That was pretty cool.
“What a nice man, lovely man. He had time for us.”
He added: “Do you know all I can think of is, I wish I met the Queen now.”
Gelder Shiel bothy was built in the late 19th century by Queen Victoria and has been used by hillwalkers for decades.
It was renovated in 2015 and it has running water and a toilet.
Balmoral Estate has been a popular residence for the Royal Family and the late Queen Elizabeth II who spent many of her summers holidaying in the idyllic area.
The Queen died at Balmoral Castle on September 8 last year, aged 96.
FRENCH TWIST
It comes as French President Emmanuel Macron hosted King Charles and Queen Camilla for a glittering banquet at France’s former royal residence of the Palace of Versailles, as the British monarch kicked off a three-day state visit aimed at showing the underlying strength of cross-Channel ties even after Brexit.
The royal couple were joined by luminaries ranging from the British rock legend Mick Jagger, the French former manager of the Arsenal football team Arsene Wenger and the world’s richest man, the luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault.
Other dinner guests in the glittering Hall of Mirrors included English actor Hugh Grant and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the actor and daughter of French singer Serge Gainsbourg and British actor Jane Birkin.
The visit, which was rescheduled from March due to the violent protests against pension reform that rocked France at the time, also aims to showcase the King’s stature as a statesman just over a year after the death of his mother and predecessor Queen Elizabeth II.
The original itinerary in Paris and the southwestern city of Bordeaux -- packed with ceremony and pomp in a country that abolished its monarchy in the 1789 revolution and then executed the king -- is largely unchanged.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were met outside the Versailles palace by Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte, before going in to join other guests.
The menu included delicacies like blue lobster cooked as a starter by star chef Anne-Sophie Pic, who has said she was inspired by the tastes of the “Sun King” Louis XIV, who built Versailles.
It was here that on her first state visit to France in 1957, Elizabeth II lunched with president Rene Coty.
There are reminders throughout the visit of the late queen, a French-speaking francophile who made five state visits to France during her record-breaking 70-year reign.
Macron, who has faced accusations from left-wing opponents of himself behaving like a monarch, will be eager to ensure the event proceeds smoothly, without showing excess at a time of economic frugality.
“This image, in this context, is obviously fundamentally harmful for Emmanuel Macron even if there are diplomatic imperatives behind it which also play a role,” French author and academic Benjamin Morel told media.
Earlier, the King, wearing a French beret, touched down in Paris with the Queen for their delayed state visit.
They jetted from Farnborough to Orly Airport on an RAF Voyager and greeted at the steps of the plane on arrival.
In a symbol of French and British unity, King Charles was invited by President Emmanuel Macron to light the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe.
The rekindling of the flame ceremony is held to remember all those who died in World War I and World War II.
He was accompanied by the Queen who wore a dusty pink wool crepe coat dress by Fiona Clare and a pink beret shaped hat with a leaf design by Philip Treacy.
- with AFP
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