Ryan Reynolds meets King Charles and can’t resist a Harry and Meghan quip

The King and Queen Consort met Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney on Friday and were likely relieved to hear that neither had watched the Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary.

“I’ve never heard of it,” McElhenney joked.

Reynolds said that he had not seen it before adding, tongue firmly in cheek: “I’ve not seen it. As a Canadian, and I’m sure Rob will speak as an American, we are not steeped in the culture as one would be growing up in the UK.”

The royals were at Wrexham AFC, which was bought by the actors for £2million in 2020, to meet players and staff.

Reynolds and McElhenney star in a Disney+ documentary series, Welcome to Wrexham, documenting their efforts to revive the fortunes of the non-league Welsh football club.

The series was being filmed during the visit, raising the prospect that the King might find himself starring in a documentary on a rival streaming giant to his younger son.

The actors joked that they had taken etiquette lessons ahead of the visit and Reynolds admitted he was “impossibly excited” to meet His Majesty.

“Rob and I both said early on, and this holds true and for the rest of our lives, 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, that’s for sure,” he said.

“Very excited.”

The Deadpool star, who owns his own brand of Aviator Gin that sponsors the club, also joked that he did not want to cause offence by presenting it as a gift to the King and Queen Consort, adding: “I don’t want to compete with the royal gin now. That might create a conflict of interest.”

Buckingham Palace launched its own gin in July 2020, made with botanicals from its own garden.

On arrival at Wrexham AFC, the King and Queen Consort walked through the players’ tunnel onto the pitch before watching football demonstrations from the women and youth teams.

The King was heard wishing players luck for their upcoming game on Saturday, while Camilla told another player: “It’s an extraordinary story.”

King Charles chatted to Paul Chaloner, the head groundsman, asking him: “This is proper grass isn’t it? Not that plastic stuff?”

Mr Chaloner assured him that it was real turf, although he admitted they had been having some difficulties keeping it in good condition because of the recent cold snap.

In a speech, the King noted that Wrexham was among the eight communities granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

He said: “As we now mark this historic occasion, we also look back, with mingled sadness and pride, at that extraordinary reign, during which, as you know, my mother’s great love for Wales was always apparent.

“It is thoroughly fitting that we should celebrate the creation of Wales’s newest city in the setting of this magnificent church, which truly deserves its designation as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales.”

Before the royals arrived, Reynolds said he hoped to talk to the monarch about the work they were doing to improve the club and stadium.

He said: “I would love to tell him a little bit about what it is that we’re hoping to achieve with the renovation of the Kop stand, and it’s not even a renovation, I would say that it’s a complete reimagining of the Kop stand, and what that will mean to not just the club, but the community of Wrexham as well.”

Kerry Evans, liaison officer for Wrexham AFC, said afterwards: “The King and Camilla both said it’s absolutely amazing the work we’ve been doing here.

“I never thought we’d have royalty at the club, now we’ve had Hollywood royalty and real royalty!”