Two worlds unexpectedly collide (Picture: Rex/Getty)
It’s not every day that the King and Queen come to visit.
However, that was the exact scenario that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney faced when the royal couple stopped by Wrexham AFC’s historic The Racecourse Ground.
In season 2 of their docu-series Welcome To Wrexham, the release date for which has arrived on Disney Plus, the actors – and co-owners of the football club – went so far as to take etiquette lessons to make sure that the meeting would go as smoothly as possible.
Ahead of the documentary’s return, Metro.co.uk spoke to the duo’s right-hand man Humphrey Ker about how the royal visit went down – and he revealed that King Charles managed to sneak in a wry It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia joke.
The executive director of Wrexham football club recalled how ‘keyed up’ Ryan and Rob were about the King and Queen’s visit, as they were ‘very excited and took it very seriously, and so they did their training’.
‘I think they prepared well for everything and it all passed off without a hitch,’ he added, before sharing some behind-the-scenes insight into the monarch’s perfectly-placed joke.
The King cracked the joke as he spoke directly to Rob on the pitch (Picture: Reuters/Ed Sykes)
The actors paid close attention to their etiquette lessons before meeting the royal couple (Picture: Jacob King/PA Wire)
Humphrey (second from the left) has worked with Rob for years and is a trusted advisor to the club’s co-owners (Picture: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
When those watching the second season of Welcome To Wrexham witness the moment King Charles shakes hands with Rob, they’ll hear the actor explain that while he’s from Philadelphia, he now lives in Los Angeles.
‘I hear it’s always sunny there,’ the King responds, in what some might assume is a coincidence, considering Rob stars in and co-created the widely popular sitcom It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
However, Humphrey confirmed that the reference to the show was completely deliberate on the royal’s part.
‘He knew full well. He was very pleased with his joke and he said that he’s got people to tell him, keep him abreast of what’s going on and set him up for these sorts of things. They had a great time,’ he shared.
Rob stars as Ronald ‘Mac’ McDonald in It’s Always Sunny, a role he’s played since 2005 (Picuret: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
The day that the King and Queen Camilla came to visit Wrexham was not only a huge moment for Ryan and Rob, but – of course – massive for the wider members of the staff who have worked extremely hard at the club for years.
‘What was nice was for our staff, it’s exciting for them – it’s a chance for a bit of recognition for what they’ve done and a sense of putting the football club on the map,’ Humphrey said.
‘I think sometimes in the past maybe when the Queen came to Wrexham, the football club wouldn’t necessarily be a stop on that. There’s lots of other things to do and see in north Wales.
‘So we’re really pleased that we were somewhere that they wanted to come and recognise.’
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After meeting King Charles at Wrexham in December 2022, Ryan shared a picture of an interaction he shared with the monarch on Instagram, with the caption: ‘Welcome to Wrexham Season 2: Charles in Charge.’
The official account for the royal family responded in a comment that read: ‘Thank you for welcoming us to @wrexham_afc!’
Meanwhile Rob – who admits in the docu-series that he struggles with the idea of bowing to another person – made a quip about a certain Netflix drama in his own Instagram post, writing: ‘Season 6 of The Crown is gonna be 🔥.’
Welcome to Wrexham season 2 launches on Wednesday September 13 on Disney Plus.
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‘He was very pleased with his joke.’