King surprises Sandringham 5km run participants

Members of a cancer charity who take part in a monthly run were left "shocked" when their royal landlord paid them a surprise visit.

King Charles met Sandringham parkrun participants on Saturday ahead of its one-year anniversary.

The event which was organised by Move Against Cancer's 5K Your Way group in partnership with Sandringham Parkrun and sees people walk, jog or run 5km (3.1 miles).

Sophie Hansell, ambassador for the run, said nobody knew the King was coming, and added: "I was just in shock, I think I stood with my mouth in aghast for a minute."

Mrs Hansell said a member of staff at Sandringham had written a letter to the King inviting him to January's event.

The runners had gathered in the restaurant area when the King snuck in to surprise them.

"They just set up the restaurant, so it was quite informal, and he came in through the kitchen door," said Mrs Hansell.

There were about 18 members who ended up meeting the monarch.

The 5k Your Way initiative combines the physical benefits of exercise with the psychological events of a peer support group.

Organised by Move Against Cancer, it hopes to support people living with and beyond cancer including their family, friends and health care professionals.

The run takes place on the last Saturday morning of every month.

King Charles was diagnosed with cancer last February and began treatment soon afterwards.

Mrs Hansell said she and other members of the group could relate to what he was going through, having experienced cancer themselves.

She said: "He was really engaging. I think a lot of the people who spoke to him said that he seemed to understand what it was like [cancer], and so he could really talk on the level of people's treatment and their recovery.

"As much as you can empathise from an outsider's perspective, it is completely different having gone through it [cancer] yourself."

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.