Local man thinks he’s spotted King Charles in Aldi, turns out to be Greg from Layer Road

What started as a routine trip to Aldi turned into an unexpected moment of confusion for Colchester resident Derek, who believed he had just spotted none other than King Charles III casually shopping for groceries.

However, after a closer look, it turns out the mystery royal was actually just Greg, a local man from Layer Road with a striking resemblance to the monarch.

The bizarre incident occurred yesterday afternoon at the Aldi on Magdalen Street, where Derek was picking up his usual weekly shop. According to Derek, he was in the middle of browsing the frozen peas when he noticed a man in the queue at the checkout wearing a very familiar face.

"I thought, ‘that can’t be King Charles, can it?’" Derek recalled. "He had the suit on, the tie, the whole look. I could barely believe it, but it was like he was blending in, trying not to draw attention."

After a brief moment of disbelief, Derek rushed up to the man in question, intending to take a discreet selfie and share it on social media.

"I knew I had to get a picture. You can’t just see royalty in Aldi and not tell people," Derek explained. "But as I was getting closer, I started having second thoughts. He wasn’t wearing a crown, and his shopping basket had, like, three different types of milk in it. Definitely not the kind of thing a king would buy. "

As it turned out, Derek’s royal encounter was far from what he expected. Upon closer inspection, the man turned out to be Greg Finch, a local resident from Layer Road, who happens to share an uncanny resemblance to the king.

"I get it all the time," Greg admitted when approached by Derek. "I’ve been mistaken for all sorts of people: David Attenborough, Richard Branson, and now, apparently, King Charles. It’s flattering, but I’m no royal, really."

Greg, who works as an office manager in the city, admitted he had no idea that his choice of groceries was causing such confusion.

"I was just getting the usual - some bread, a few apples, and some toilet roll, and the other essentials. Honestly, I don’t even think the guy believed me when I told him I wasn’t Charles,” Greg said with a laugh.

Despite the mix-up, Derek was quick to apologise and share the amusing story with his friends. "I honestly thought it was him. I mean, what’s the chance of someone else looking that much like the king? It’s been the talk of the family all day," Derek added. "I just hope Greg doesn’t mind the attention."

When asked about the encounter, Aldi staff confirmed they had not been informed of any royalty in the store.

"We’ve seen a lot of things happen in Aldi, but a visit from King Charles? That’s a first," one employee said, laughing. "Although, to be fair, we’ve had some pretty notable faces in here over the years, so nothing really surprises us anymore."

According to Derek, he’ll be telling this story for years to come, and who knows, maybe next time he’ll bump into the real King Charles in the self-checkout line.