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In pictures: King meets patients and staff as he opens hospital

Susie RackBBC News, West Midlands
News imageRichard Pohle/Pool via Reuters King Charles pulls a purple cloth from a black glass plaque saying NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham. Welcome to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. The plaque is partially obscured by the cloth. He is in a lobby area with glass screens behind him and looking to the left. He is wearing a grey suit and pink tie.Richard Pohle/Pool via Reuters
King Charles III unveils a plaque as he officially opens the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH), in Smethwick

King Charles III has officially opened a new hospital in the West Midlands, meeting staff and patients amid crowds of well-wishers.

Onlookers waved flags and cheered the King as he arrived at the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, a 736-bed site in Smethwick.

The monarch joked with hospital patients about the challenges of getting older, telling one woman "bits don't work so well when you get past 70".

The visit was rearranged from March, when it was cancelled due to side-effects from his cancer treatment.

News imageRichard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire Female medical students in black scrubs stand behind a black tape, facing the King. He is shaking hands with a woman with long blonde hair while crowds of medical staff look on.Richard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire
The King was greeted by medical students

A crowd of hundreds of patients, staff and medical students cheered, clapped and took selfies as the King stopped to speak to people.

Chairman of the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust Sir David Nicholson said it was a "tremendous honour" to have the King unveil a plaque marking the official opening.

News imageRichard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire Three levels of glass walkways viewed from ground level inside an internal atrium, each lit by spotlights, with crowds looking down onto the King on the ground level as he chats to groups of people.Richard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire
Staff, visitors and patients line the walkways to see the King during his visit

Sir David Nicholson, chairman of the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said it was a "tremendous honour" to have the King unveil a plaque marking the official opening.

He said: "This is a day of immense pride, not just for those of us who have been part of this project since its inception, but the entire community that will benefit from this world-class facility for generations to come."

News imagePA Media A woman with tied-back black hair and a grey and white checked jacket is holding a baby in a salmon-coloured outfit who is grabbing her nose. The King is smiling at them from the right. Behind, a crowd of people are taking pictures.PA Media
The King met Hernata Yonas, the first baby born at the hospital last October

After his visit to the ward, the King met the first baby to have been born at the hospital after it opened its doors on October 6 last year and her parents, Semhar Tesfu and Yonas Kflu, from Perry Barr.

Hernata Yonas arrived at 08:48 BST, just 90 minutes after the maternity ward opened its doors for the first time.

He also met Elsie Kudozie, whose baby Eyanna was born just two days ago.

News imageRichard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire The King chats to a woman sitting on a blue sofa, wearing red pyjamas and a brown headscarf. She is holding an infant who has a hat and a blanket draped across her. The King is beaming as he leans down to chat to the woman, who is also smiling. A man in a suit and a nurse smile as they look on, while crowds of hospital staff stand behind black tape. Richard Pohle/The Times/PA Wire
King Charles met Elsie Kudozie, whose baby Eyanna was born on Monday

Earlier in the day, the King toured the Oratory of St Philip Neri in Birmingham, following the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

While there, he looked at historic items in the library and the cardinal's personal effects in his room, which has not been touched since his death in 1890.

News imageReuters The King, in grey suit and pink tie chats to a Father in a black coat, with white collar and black pointed hat. Four male colleagues in the same outfits look on. They are inside a building which has exposed red brick walls and ornate stone carvings on pillars.Reuters
King Charles talks with Fathers during a tour of The Oratory of St. Philip Neri following the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham
News imageChris Jackson/PA Wire King Charles in grey suit and pink tie pulling an ornate pink cloth from a gold plaque on an easel. Other gold plaques line a red brick exposed internal wall. A Father in a black costume holding a black hat looks on, with other people visible behind the King.Chris Jackson/PA Wire
A gold plaque commemorates the King's visit to the Oratory of St Philip Neri

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