King Charles and the Queen Consort have carried out their first official engagement together since royal mourning ended.

Hundreds of people lined the streets in Dunfermline to greet the couple as they left the city chambers.

They were seen chatting, smiling and shaking hands with people who had waited patiently for their arrival – with the monarch even being offered a free haircut.

When asked if he would like to go into a local barber’s shop, King Charles smiled and said “next time”.

The crowds were “thrilled” with the royal visit. Teacher Carol Williams, 52, who was waiting to catch a glimpse of the couple, said “it’s such an honour for Dunfermline to be his first visit as the new King”.

It was the first time King Charles and the Queen Consort had carried out a public engagement since the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.

Before spending time with the crowds, the royals had attended an official council meeting where the King formally marked the conferral of city status on Dunfermline and signed a guest book.

King Charles will host South Africa’s president in first state visit as sovereign

First official photo of King and Queen Consort alongside Prince and Princess of Wales released

King Charles will not attend COP27 in Egypt, Buckingham Palace says

During the ceremony, the King said he was “delighted” when it was announced the town would become a city.

He said he hoped people would feel a “real sense of pride in this new chapter”.

The Fife city was one of eight places to be awarded its new status as part of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also at the chambers for the royal engagement.

King Charles and the Queen Consort then visited Dunfermline Abbey to mark its 950th anniversary and to see the resting place of Robert the Bruce.

Read more:
King will not attend COP27
Coins featuring King Charles unveiled

They were again greeted by crowds of well-wishers and met officials from Historic Scotland to learn more about the conservation of the site.

The King and his wife will be hosting a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh later on Monday to celebrate British South Asian communities.

They are expected to meet between 200 and 300 guests of British Indian, Pakistani, Bangladesh, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Bhutanese and Maldivian heritage from across the UK.

The event will recognise the contribution many from these communities have made to the NHS, arts, media, education, business and the armed forces.

Related posts:

UK reports 231 COVID deaths and 5,766 cases in past 24 hours Teen stab victim’s mother says ‘I sent my son to play football and he didn’t come home’ Police not trained to restrain head with foot, trial of PC accused of ex-footballer’s murder hears ‘Not everyone is horrible’: £32,000 raised for crying German fan who suffered online abuse UK reports another 24,248 COVID cases and 15 deaths, latest daily figures show PM does not rule out shortages at Christmas – but says it will be ‘considerably better’ than last year Police track down owner of severed finger found outside block of flats Charles ‘deeply conscious of the honour’ for ‘darling’ wife to be Queen Camilla Boris Johnson may now be safe as PM, but war and an economic crisis mean his job has never been harder Queen misses Royal Ascot for first time since her coronation ‘It’s a joke’: Hundreds of passengers left waiting for luggage at Heathrow amid staff shortages National debt grew by £22.9bn in June, as inflation pushes interest payments up