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One of King Charles III's more unusual royal engagement activities has become the subject of a new viral video, with social media users labeling footage of the monarch taking part in a school sports exercise as one of his most "bizarre" moments on TikTok.
Charles is known to be a fan of physical exercise and throughout his life has taken part in activities in view of the general public. For a number of years he regularly played polo, was photographed windsurfing and water-skiing, took a turn at breakdancing in the 1980s and more recently spoke of his love for cross-country walking.
During his time as Prince of Wales and then as king, following his accession to the throne in 2022, Charles has undertaken a broad range of engagements which at times have included opportunities to join in with whatever activity he may be observing.
Uploaded to TikTok by user the_blazing_royals, on November 18, an example of one of these occasions is shown in footage captured in 2012 during a visit to the island of Jersey in the English Channel with Queen Camilla.
The then-prince and duchess visited Grainville Secondary School on the island as part of a visit connected with Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. During their time at the school, Charles inspected a new gymnasium which had been equipped with a rockclimbing wall.
During his inspection, Charles was photographed trying out his own rock climbing skills, with the gathered press following the visit taking a number of still shots and video clips of the moment.
Captioned "Parkour King!" the footage has been viewed on TikTok over 250,000 times so far and gained in excess of 14,000 likes and over 400 comments, many of which have noted the unusual royal behavior.
"This has to be one of the most bizarre moment from a royal," wrote one user. "England, come get your king!"
"Wow—fair play to him," posted another, with a further comment reading: "The old boy's got moves."
The king celebrated his 75th birthday on November 14 and has continued an active program over his first year as monarch, making inroads to try and connect with younger generations with whom his own popularity and that of the monarchy in general is lower than others.
On November 21, Charles welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to Britain, to begin a three-day state visit. The king showed his willingness to bridge a cross-generational gap during the state banquet held at Buckingham Palace that evening, to which he invited global phenomenon K-pop group BLACKPINK.
The band's members, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa—best known for their 2020 hit song "How You Like That"—were photographed attending the banquet at which Charles gave them a special shoutout in his speech, praising their environmental advocacy.
Following the banquet, Charles also invested the group as Members of the Order of the British Empire on the recommendation of the U.K. government in recognition of their climate work.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more