The King started a centuries-old traditional handball game during his visit to Jedburgh, as part of Royal Week in Scotland.
The annual game of hand ba’, which has been played in the Borders town since 1704, was one of a number of events that marked Charles’s visit on Thursday.
The King, who was dressed in an immaculate grey suit, started the game in the town’s main square by tossing a leather ball into the air above a group of local men.
He then took a step back and looked on as the competitors proceeded to wrestle for the ball in a heap on the ground in front of him.
The full-contact game sees men and boys split into two teams based on where they live in the town – the Uppies and the Doonies.
The King’s visit came during the town’s annual Jethart Callant festival, which is part of the “common ridings” held across the Borders each year.
Charles watched as a pipe band marched up the main street, followed by a colourful procession of horses led by the Callant – a young man chosen each year to lead the festival and represent the town.
After dismounting, the Callant and his entourage danced a traditional reel on the square in front of Charles, to the music of a single accordion, while crowds of onlookers clapped along.
Charles also visited a number of local business and a market around the town’s bandstand, where stallholders presented him with gifts including local honey and a hand-made shepherd’s crook topped with a goat horn.
King spent time at the Jed Shed, which provides a space for members to do carpentry and other crafts, share skills and build connections.
He discussed carpentry with some of the members and helped screw the roof on to a bird house, before sitting down with members in the facility’s social space to discuss how it has supported their physical and mental wellbeing.
Crowds of people came out in the warm sunshine to witness the event, which was the first royal visit to the town since the Princess Royal opened the bandstand in 2006.
On arrival, Charles was cheering by crowds of local schoolchildren, many waving saltires and Union flags, while hundreds of well-wishers lined his route through the town.
Shaun Carroll, chairman of the Jedburgh Royal British Legion, was one of the hundreds who gathered in the High Street hoping to catch a glimpse of the King.
The 59-year-old said he was “chuffed to bits” that Charles stopped to chat to him as he made his way through the town.
“He asked us about the Legion we had in Jedburgh, and he asked if I was managing to recruit any younger members yet,” Mr Carroll said of the King.
“What an honour for the town and the small businesses here. It’s been great, absolutely great.”
Julie Gallagher, 51, had been looking on from the front step of the estate agent where she works when Charles stopped for an “impromptu” chat.
“It was a lovely, unexpected meeting,” she said.
“He was very nice. Just asked how we were, and shook our hands, and carried on to the florist.”
Asked how it felt to have shaken his hand, Ms Gallagher said: “That was a very firm handshake. He’s done it a few times in his life, so it was very nice experience just to meet him in the flesh.
“It’s such a positive thing for the town and it’s just great to have been part of it.”
Emma Tennant, 56, who was one of the stallholders Charles met at the market, described the visit as “fantastic”.
She added: “I thought the town put on a fantastic mix of displays, and our group (of stallholders) here, we had honey, we had stick makers, and he had really lovely time for each different stall.”
She said Charles had been “very interested” in the work she does to support the local bee population, and that he had been “very grateful” for the gifts of lip balm and honey she had given him.
“He said he didn’t think he earned it, but I said I was grateful that he’d come to Jedburgh to see all the good things that go on in Jedburgh,” she said.
The visit comes as part of Royal Week in Scotland, where the royal family undertake a series of engagements north of the border.
Visits began on Tuesday, with the King arriving at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh for the Ceremony of the Keys and holding an investiture.
Charles and Camilla last visited the Scottish Borders in 2023, when they were in Galashiels and Selkirk.