Britain's King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla met Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as they paid a visit to the Welsh football club owned by the stars.
The royals visited Wrexham AFC, which was bought by the actors in 2021, on Friday and met players and staff as well as the co-chairmen, during a tour of the Racecourse Ground.
Deadpool actor Reynolds and McElhenney, who stars TV comedy in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, joked they had had etiquette lessons ahead of the visit.
Speaking to media ahead of their meeting, Reynolds said: “I would say that we’re impossibly excited to welcome him to the Racecourse ground, this historic church that resides in the heart of Wrexham and is the heart of Wrexham.
“Rob and I both said early on — and this holds true and for the rest of our lives — we will do anything to uplift and elevate this community, and this club and having the King pay a visit is certainly one way to do it. That’s for sure. Very excited.”
The actors said they had not watched Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's controversial Netflix show, which aired the day before the visit.
McElhenney said: “I’ve never heard of it.”
The stars have chronicled their takeover of the club in documentary Welcome to Wrexham, which was being filmed when the king and queen consort visited.
McElhenney said he thought the king must be a fan of the club.
He said: “This is an incoming call. So, we hope that he’s a fan. If not, we’ll make him a fan.”
Reynolds said he hoped to talk to the monarch about the work they were doing to improve the club and stadium.
Asked if he might offer them a gift of Aviation Gin, the company which he owns, Reynolds said: “I don’t want to compete with the Royal gin now. That might create a conflict of interest.”
King Charles and the queen consort walked through the players’ tunnel on to the pitch at the ground, where they met Reynolds, McElhenney and club executives and greeted players from the first team before posing for a picture.
The king was heard wishing players luck for their coming game on Saturday, while the queen consort told another player: “It’s an extraordinary story.”
They watched football demonstrations from the women and youth teams on the pitch.
Ryan Reynolds' 'Welcome to Wrexham' — in pictures
The royals also met staff from the club shop, administration team, coaches and medical staff and learnt about the redevelopment of the club from strategic adviser to the board Shaun Harvey, as well as meeting contractors and architects involved in the project.
The king joked about the pitch to head groundsman Paul Chaloner, saying: “It is proper grass isn’t it, not that plastic stuff?”
They went on to meet disabled liaison officer for Wrexham AFC, Kerry Evans, and participants of Powerchair football.
Ms Evans, 47, said it was “very special” to meet members of the royal family.
“I never thought we’d have royalty at the club, now we’ve had Hollywood royalty and real royalty!”
Wrexham AFC was the first club in Wales to offer Powerchair football, a team participation sport for people who use electric wheelchairs.
The royal couple also met 97-year-old Wrexham fan Arthur Massey.
