King Charles may have picked up a parkrun volunteer credit at Sandringham Royal Estate on Saturday, 31st January 2026! His Majesty was a surprise guest and helped volunteer Sarah Byatt at Marshal Point number one to the astonishment of 258 parkrunners and parkwalkers.

The King's visit was organised in partnership with the charity Move Against Cancer and Sandringham’s 5K Your Way group ahead of World Cancer Day next week. It was known to only a small number within the core parkrun leaders group.

5K Your Way encourages anyone impacted by cancer to walk, jog, run, cheer, or volunteer at more than 120 designated parkrun events across the UK and Ireland on the last Saturday of each month – bringing communities together through movement, friendship, and encouragement. Photos from the day show just how much everyone enjoyed the morning.  

The historic occasion saw first finishes for Daniel Guppy (M45 Ryston Runners AC, 19:02) and Marie Duhig (W45, 19:40). W65 Ramona Thevenet (Stragglers, 27:24) completed her 903rd parkrun, believed to be the female who has completed the most parkruns in the world! 

There was a Royal connection for junior 11-14 tailwalker volunteer, Beau Stanton, who was able to shake hands with the King and talk about his fundraising for cancer and volunteering at Sandringham parkrun as part of his Duke of Edinburgh award programme.

There were visitors from Cheshire, London, Hertfordshire, Melton Mowbray, and a lady from New Zealand who was amazed to see His Majesty present! The Sandringham parkrun PB bell was rung by 35 people. There were also 31 Sandringham first-timers who probably think the King is there every week! 

A final word on an extraordinary day from parkrun volunteer Peter Brown, who provided the Sandringham PB bell and stand: "A big thank you to all the volunteers today. Remember, without them we can't run. So why not volunteer? It's fun and helps other runners, and you might get to shake hands with the King, too; you never know."

Visit the Sandringham parkrun website here 

More photos and information at Sandringham parkrun on Facebook

Photo courtesy of Sandringham parkrun on Facebook