Oldham’s running man Afruz Miah BEM has said it is a credit to the community that he got a front row seat at the coronation and stood just metres away from the King as he was crowned.
Afruz who was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his charity work and services to the community last year, was one of just 2,000 people from across the world invited to Westminster Abbey to witness the coronation of King Charles III.
During the coronation, Afruz got the chance to meet the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, following the service as well former Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, and David Cameron.
He also rubbed shoulders with the first minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf and the first Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford as well as the Labour Leader Keir Starmer.
Afruz initially received an email inviting him to the King’s Coronation, but he suspected it was a scam as he had received a scam letter the week before.
Luckily, he still confirmed that he was happy to attend and a couple of weeks later he received an invitation in the post.
“The post man knocked on and said, ‘You’ve got mail from Buckingham Palace, are you royalty mate?’”, Afruz laughed.
The invitation, which came inside an envelope bearing the royal cypher, was designed by Andrew Jamieson, whose work is inspired by the themes of Arthurian legend.
The magnitude of the invite did not hit Afruz until he started his journey to London on the morning of the Coronation.
“It was overwhelming. It really hit me when I went through security,” he said.
Afruz was assigned a front row seat inside the Abbey and was stood just metres away from King Charles as he made his way to be crowned.
“I was at the front next to a Privy Council member and all the guests walked past us, the King and Queen, the Prime Minister and all the dignitaries.
“Everyone was shaking the Privy Council member’s hand and my hand as well.”
Afruz was quickly bombarded with messages from his friends on family who spotted him on TV and took pictures.
“It was surreal, it was mind boggling. It’s hard to describe. It was totally beyond what I expected. There was royalty after royalty.
“The more I think about it now the more it sinks in. This might never happen again in my lifetime,” he said.
Afruz, who was invited to the coronation due to his fundraising and services to the community, said: “I felt proud to be there representing my community.
“Without the support of the community I would not been invited. For me to get there is credit to the community for supporting me. I was there representing them more than anything."
Afruz is also thankful to his wife Aleya Begum for her unwavering support.
"My wife has been very supportive in everything that I've done and I want to thank her for all her support.
"Without the support of my immediate family, including my wife and children, this wouldn't be possible."
The 49-year-old has four children. Following in her father's footsteps, his youngest, Amelia Manha helped to raise more than £40,000 towards aid efforts following the Turkey and Syria earthquakes last month.
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Afruz, who emigrated to Coldhurst from Bangladesh aged five and now lives in Coppice, began running in 2019 following a health scare and has been running for charity ever since.
He is hoping to get the total amount he has raised to £1milllion this month and has supported causes including the Global Relief Trust (GRT), the cancer charity Maggie's Oldham, Oldham Food Bank, and Oldham Street Angels.
Afruz, who is now a full-time fundraiser for the Global Relief Trust (GRT), has also started working with schools in Oldham and across the North West in a bid to inspire the younger generation to get involved in community work.
“I want people in the community to think if someone from next door can be one of the 2,000 to get invited to the King’s Coronation why can’t we do something amazing?
“The community has to have faith in you and fundraise with you. There is only so much I can raise it’s also about engaging other people and other communities to come forward,” he said.
The fundraiser is also calling for local leaders in Oldham to give more recognition to community champions.
“There are so many grass roots champions within our community that the local leaders overlook. I want people to be recognised locally first before they get a BEM.
“I’m sure there’s more people doing amazing stuff in the community that’s not getting highlighted. My message is for the local leaders to highlight our community champions before they get highlighted by the royal family.”
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