The King was met by a crowd shielding under umbrellas before laughing with Grimsby Town FC staff.
The King shook hands with a football mascot and offered the help of his head forester to plant thousands of trees during a rainy visit to a seaside town.
Charles was presented with a personalised Grimsby Town Football Club shirt with the number three and “HM King Charles” on the back by the Mighty Mariner mascot at the club’s Blundell Park in Cleethorpes, north-east Lincolnshire.
Dozens of people waited in the downpour for the King’s arrival at the football ground, holding umbrellas, Union flags and a banner with Charles’s face on it, while those in neighbouring houses peered from their upstairs windows.
The King met people and organisations involved in the Our Future collective, a charity to create citizen-led change, to talk about their plans for Grimsby.
Simon Beeton, chief executive of Navigo, the mental health provider in Grimsby, said the King was “clearly very well connected” and offered the help of his head forester to plant trees in the town.
He said: “The guys who were looking at 10,000 new trees for Grimsby, for example, he’s going to put them in contact with his head gardener. It’s like wow, he wasn’t passively listening, he very actively listens.
“The fact he’s chosen to come to Grimsby to see the work we’re doing here and got excited about it – he has made that commitment that he will send us the details of his head forester.”
Francine Orr, ticket office manager for the football club, laughed with Charles when he met members of staff.
She said: “We were briefed on what we should say and what we shouldn’t say, how we should bow and how we should curtsey.
“I’ve had it in my brain all morning then he comes up to me… and he shakes my hand and I said ‘All right darling, oh no, I’m so sorry Your Majesty’.
“He went ‘That’s OK’, and he laughed and he stood back and he went ‘I like being called darling’.”
She added: “He was so down to earth. Lovely, lovely man. It was so good he’s come to Grimsby to meet everyone at Grimsby Town.”
Crystal Ness, operational lead for Our Future in north-east Lincolnshire, told the Press Association that the King was “impressed” by what they were doing which “validates” the work of local organisations.
Earlier on Thursday, the King toured the Horizon Youth Zone state-of-the-art facility in Grimsby, chatting to school children, cadets from the armed services and scouts.
They showed him the centre’s climbing wall, sports hall and training kitchen, where he watched teenagers make pizza muffins as he asked them how they felt about missing school for the day.
As he toured the sports hall, the King said “I’m sorry we can’t stop and play some badminton” and he asked a group of youngsters about Grimsby Town’s victory over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in August.
The King’s second stop in Grimsby was at The Care Hub, a community care and housing organisation designed to provide support to people by providing a safe and nurturing environment.
Charles met staff and people who have benefited from the hub, including a one-to-one meeting with Liam Atkinson, 26.
After the meeting, Mr Atkinson explained how he came to The Care Hub after his marriage broke down and he developed health problems.
Asked about his meeting with the King, he said: “He’s so down to earth. He’s so kind. So considerate.
“He seemed to care, which is amazing.”
