Camilla cheers Marcus Rashford after viewing Going to the Match

Queen Consort Camilla sang the praises of Marcus Rashford during a football-inspired day trip that included viewing one of the world's most recognisable depictions of fandom.

King Charles III and Camilla were in Greater Manchester and made a quick stop to view Going to the Match — the world-famous LS Lowry painting — before going to the youth club, where footballer-activist Rashford went as a boy.

They also visited the area’s huge Kellogg’s factory, where they talked about the food poverty issues that Rashford, a Manchester United and England star, has highlighted and campaigned on.

She helped unveil a donation of books from Rashford to Norbrook Youth Club, and, sitting down with England coach Gareth Southgate, she praised Rashford’s wonderful gesture.

The youth club, in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester, received a bookshelf unit crammed with children's novels — picked by the footballer and Macmillan Children's Books team — donated by the Marcus Rashford Book Club in partnership with the National Literacy Trust.

Southgate, an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, said: “He's been so impressive in being able to cope with it and to be thinking of other people.

“We're fortunate in our team, we've got a lot of young men who recognise the privilege they've got and the opportunity to help other people that have come from the same areas that they've come from.”

In 2020, Rashford waged a high-profile campaign to persuade the British government to provide free meals to vulnerable young people in England throughout the school holidays during the coronavirus pandemic, forcing then-prime minister Boris Johnson into an about-turn on the issue.

“This is where he [Rashford] grew up,” Southgate said. “He recognises the impact that had on his life and the opportunity he's got [and] the position he's in to be able to affect things positively for other people.”

Earlier on Friday, King Charles visited GCHQ's north-western hub.