It’s well documented that King Charles and the royals love to go on long walks when they’re staying on the Balmoral estate.
But one group of mountain bikers were absolutely stunned when they bumped into the monarch as he enjoyed a solo stroll through the Scottish Highlands last month.
A video uploaded by Andrew McAvoy aka McTrail Rider shows the group pausing their ride when they come across a casually-dressed Charles.
The King appeared more than happy to chat with the trio, asking them whether they’d “done [the route] before?” Another cyclist then asked the monarch: “Is this your summer vacation to Balmoral?” to which Charles replied: “It is.”
WATCH: King Charles stuns mountain bikers in Balmoral via this link: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/R1WQnhwt
After his encounter with royalty, Andrew said: “That was a king! What a nice man, lovely man, had time for us.” He added: “The king is a nice man and he’s walking when everyone else is driving.”
While the King was walking down the trail alone, in a comment on his YouTube channel, Andrew emphasised: “While there were no guards within sight of the camera, please know that the King very much had plenty of security nearby and numerous vehicles had scouted the route the King was walking before and after him. He was alone, but still very much protected, as you would expect.”
The King and Queen followed in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s footsteps and spent the traditional summer break at the Balmoral estate, where Charles has his Scottish residence, Birkhall.
Charles and Camilla hosted several members of the royal family during their stay, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke of York.
The King and Queen returned to their public duties earlier this month and completed their three-day postponed state visit to France on Friday, where Charles made history in the French Senate and Camilla wowed in Dior and sapphire jewels at a state banquet at the Palace of Versailles.
