London (AFP) - King Charles III on Friday visited Wrexham in north Wales on Friday, and met the Hollywood actors who have bought the new city's football club.
The king and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, visited Wrexham to celebrate the small town gaining city status last year.
"Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, most famous for his role in comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", took control of Wrexham's lowly football club last year with an initial £2 million ($2.7 million) investment.
Camilla said the club's takeover was "an extraordinary story" as the royals met the team and management and posed for photographs.
Reynolds and McElhenney became co-owners of the non-league side after buying out a group of fans.
Their takeover and the fifth-tier team's subsequent bid for promotion has become the subject of hit docuseries "Welcome to Wrexham" -- the latest in a booming trend of behind-the-scenes sports documentaries.
The ongoing series was being filmed when Charles and Camilla visited.
Dressed in dark suits, Reynolds and McElhenney grinned broadly as they met Charles and showed him and Camilla round.
Reynolds said ahead of the royal visit that he was "impossibly excited".
"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."
Charles later paid tribute to the club in a speech in the city's St Giles's Church, known as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.
"A little earlier today, I had the opportunity to see one of the other wonders of Wrexham, namely the football club, which is busy putting Wrexham on the map as never before," Charles said.
He also praised the Welsh national football team for bringing "unprecedented international recognition to Wales through qualifying for the World Cup".
