Victoria Square was filled with thousands of people for a historic visit.

Flags were waving as His Majesty King Charles III received the warmest of welcomes from the people of Bolton.

Some arrived as early as 9am.

Brian and his wife Adrienne Tonge say they came to see the King because “it was a historic occasion”.

And Brian had previously helped design an instrument for Buckingham Palace to help make it more environmentally friendly.

He said: “I was on the technical design team to help make it more environmentally friendly.

The Bolton News: From left to right: Brian, Adrienne, Ben, Alan, and Susan MosleyFrom left to right: Brian, Adrienne, Ben, Alan, and Susan Mosley (Image: Newsquest)

“I am very proud.

“This is such a momentous occasion and there’s a lot of excitement.”

Adrienne added: “All the people that came to Bolton is wonderful, and there are people from so many ethnicities that the King Charles is meeting, including the Bolton Interfaith Council.

“I’m proud to be part of the country.”

Ben Webb travelled from Heywood and said he had to come and get a glimpse of King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, as a huge royalist.

He said: “It’s amazing what it’s bringing to Bolton.

“I am a royalist and love the royal family.”

The warm atmosphere also forged new friendships.

The Bolton News:

Brian, Adrienne, Ben, Alan, and Susan Mosley had met each other in the crowd and felt connected during the visit.

Susan said: “Me and my husband Alan are big royalists and really love the royals.

“And it is such a historic moment.”

Kelly Bailey says her husband arrived at about 9am so he could get right to the front of the crowd.

ALSO READ: Bolton King Charles III: The history of the town hall

She said that they had previously camped out for around 15 hours for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Scott Barnes and his friend Jake Holmes would not consider themselves fans of the royalists, but they said that it was something they could not miss.

Scott said: “Even if you’re not royalists it is quite exciting.

The Bolton News: From left to right: Scott and JakeFrom left to right: Scott and Jake (Image: Newsquest)

“We never got to see the Queen, so we thought why not come and see the King.”

Douglas Taylor gathered around the square with his family and described it as a “chance in a million”.

He added: “There aren’t many chances like this, and I saw the Queen a long time ago, so had to come and see King Charles.”