King Charles praised as 'really friendly and more 'easy going than Queen Elizabeth'

Renowned stars and acting giants appeared admiring the Britain's new monarch King Charles III as they gathered for investiture ceremony. 

William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in hit soap Coronation Street, lavished praise on the King,  describing him as "really friendly" and more "easy going" than his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.

The legendary actor, 90, who has played Ken Barlow for a record 62 years, was awarded his OBE on Wednesday morning.

Among others, Band of Brothers actor Damian Lewis, Countryfile presenter Matt Baker and AstraZeneca's chief executive Sir Pascal Soriot were also honoured at the royal residence in Berkshire.

After meeting the 74-year-old King, Roache shared that they chatted about their respective challenging workloads, describing the monarch as "lovely" and "very friendly".

 Roache shared with the PA news agency: "He said: 'Not still working are you?'; I said: 'Yes, just had two ex-girlfriends on the show'. William Roache is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles III at Windsor Castle

"He said: 'Oh that must have been work', and I said: 'May I wish you a long and joyful reign sir?', and he said: 'Thank you, that will be a lot of work too'."

A long time supporter of the monarchy, Roache said he met Queen Elizabeth II about seven times, going on to say the King is "more easy going" than his late mother.

Awarded an MBE for his charity work with Children In Need, Baker, 44, revealed he and the monarch also had an entertaining conversation about a herd of Hebridean sheep the presenter bought off the then-Prince of Wales during the filming of Countryfile.

Mr. Matthew Baker, Trustee, Children in Need, from Buckland Common, is made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles III at Windsor Castle.

"I told him, because I was feeding them this morning before I came - obviously with it being so frosty - and they're still going strong so we had a bit of a natter about it," he said.

The presenter also reminisced about mucking out the late Queen's horse Emma, what he referred to as a highlight in his TV career.