The King met members of the Monacan nation during the last event during the whistle-stop four-day tour of Washington DC, New York and Virginia.

King Charles with the Monacan Indian Nation elders at Shenandoah National Park on April 30, 2026.Credit : Julia Demaree Nikhinson-Pool/Getty

How does a 77-year-old King become a junior wildlife crusader? It’s all in the heart and soul rather than the actual age.

When King Charles undertook the last public outing of his four-day visit to the United States on April 30, he was given a new honor. He became a junior ranger at Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park (complete with its own special stamp commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence and the state visit) and helped swear in a group of new recruits.

Kirsten Talken-Spaulding, deputy regional director for the National Park Service, handed King Charles his passport and explained, “The junior is not a title of age. It’s something everyone can aspire to and be a conservationist — much like the King himself.”

“He may not be a youngster, but he’s a most important man in the conservation world.”

King Charles has been a committed protector of wildlife and the natural world for much of his life. “Having someone like the king come here and recognize the importance of all this is wonderful,” Talken-Spaulding adds. “It’s equally important to appreciate beauty around us and learn what it takes to take care of that beauty around us.”

King Charles greets National Park Service Rangers at swearing-in ceremony in Shenandoah National Park, Va., April 30.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

The ceremony under a tree at a magnificent spot high above a valley in the national park saw King Charles walk along the line, greeting each youngster and then, after they’d said their pledge, wished them, “Good luck, have fun.”

It was a fitting last event in the U.S. for the King, as it both celebrated conservation and the natural world and also enabled him to meet some women from the Monacan nation — who, like him, want to preserve the natural world.

King Charles inspects the Junior Rangers as they are sworn in, on April 30, 2026.Allison Robbert – Pool/Getty

The King — who had come from the block party at nearby Front Royal — was clearly animated in his conversations with them as they traded talk of the loss of trees like ash and chestnut and the importance of honey bees. “He said the best honey comes out of trees, and we said we know — that’s how we used to gather it,” Sue Elliott, the nation’s museum director, tells PEOPLE.

Clutching a crystal honey pot (etched with his cypher) which the monarch gave them, Chief Diane Shields says, “He’s such a gentleman, a gentle soul. We could tell that he was tired, but he was so polite to everybody.” They’re going to put the pot in their visitors’ center.

After being shown the view of the stunning valley below, it was the turn of a display hawk to entertain him. But the 19-year-old Harris hawk named Cuervo caused a bit of a flap as the display didn’t quite go according to plan. King Charles watched as the lively hawk took off and flew past him. The hawk was meant to soar up and over the watching crowd and into the glove of his handler — only to come down into some rangers.

Earlier, after being welcomed by Doug Burgun, the Secretary of the Interior, King Charles was introduced to a bald eagle named Buddy, who is an ambassador for the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

Buddy was brought to them in 2008 with a lesion on his beak, which made it impossible for him to look after himself, and he could not be safely released back into the wild.

“Today, we’re celebrating the conservation success of the bald eagle. And it’s fitting to show him to the king as the bald eagle is our national bird and a great symbol in this 250th birthday year,” says the President of the Wildlife Center, Meg Gammage-Tucker.

“He and his entire family are doing a wonderful job in helping with international conservation. Both he and William are known for that. Today makes it clear that they’re willing to work with partners around the world on that message.”

King Charles is introduced by handler Haley Williamson to Buddy the Bald Eagle at Shenandoah National Park, Va., April 30, 2026.Julia Demaree Nikhinson-Pool/Getty

As the King wound up the visit, Mark Madison, historian for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Museum, had some special photos to show the royal. There were shots of Charles when he was Prince of Wales visiting neighboring Maryland in 1970 — including him seeing a whooping crane and another of him witnessing a bald eagle autopsy! “He said, ‘I remember that trip — we stayed at the White House,’ ” Madison tells PEOPLE. “He was charming. He asked us lots of questions about our work. He was really focused, which was wonderful.”