The Prince of Wales had a touching interaction with a 91-year-old man during his visit to a community swimming pool yesterday afternoon.
Prince William, 42, chatted to a supporter called Mavis Townsend outside Birtley Community Pool in the North East as the site reopened.
In a touching conversation, Mavis told the heir about her connection to the pool: “I’m 91 years old and I learned to swim.”
“No way,” the father of three responded before adding: “It’s very important, everyone needs to know how to swim, we’re an island nation, we need to know how to swim… I’m glad it’s open again.” ‘.
Mavis, clutching a Union Jack flag, added: “When I was a child we didn’t have swimming lessons at the schools we used to come here to every Saturday morning, it was the only swimming pool in the area.”
The Prince of Wales looked in high spirits as he chatted to Mavis Townsend, 91, outside Birtley community pool in the North East.
William jokingly replied: ‘Will you be swimming soon? “There’s a water slide there, I see a lot of 91-year-olds on a water slide, you won’t be the first.”
Concluding the sweet interaction, William said, “I’ll have to visit the residence, please say hello to everyone at the residence for me.”
After asking her name, he added: ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you Mavis. Thank you for coming today…have a wonderful rest of your day.’
Elsewhere, before William chatted with Mavis, he greeted other members of the crowd with a handshake. He said to one: ‘Your hands are cold; I know you’ve been here a long time.
The Prince of Wales revealed that his eldest son, Prince George, is an avid diver during his visit to the community pool yesterday.
Prince William chatted to Team GB Olympians, including Adam Peaty and Tom Dean, at Birtley Community Pool in the North East as the site reopened.
While chatting to the elite swimmers, he revealed that he and his super wife Kate, 42, “love” the sport, and that their 11-year-old son has taken up a more daring underwater activity.
He said: ‘Catherine and I love swimming. George loves to dive. William added: “He was ten, we kept him under control, thinking he would be scared, but he loved it. It just introduced him to the world of water.
Prince William chatted with Mavis, who sweetly told him about her connection to the community pool.
The father of three asked Mavis to greet everyone at the residence where he currently lives.
Elsewhere in the visit, father-of-three William revealed why he was not present at the Paris Olympics to cheer on Team GB in August and instead decided to support the team from home.
Tom asked William: ‘Did you manage to get there (to Paris)’?
William replied: “No, I really wanted to come, but I have to say that after reading someone’s interview about Covid (looking at Adam Peaty, who tested positive during the games), I decided, because my wife was obviously having chemotherapy, that No”. I don’t want to risk bringing Covid home, so Adam very kindly reminded me that that still existed.
But we saw it all. We were glued to him every day.’
During the visit, William also met Paralympic athletes Maisie Summers-Newton and Louise Fiddes, who showed off their medals.
They continued to discuss the impact of the closure of community pools.
Prince William said: “We’ve heard stories from every country about swimming pools closing so we thought ‘no, we want to be able to stop this.’ We want to replicate this (the reopening of Birtley Pool) across the country because the “Swimming is a very important part of life. We are an island nation, we should all have access to learning to swim.”
Prince William caused a sensation when he visited Birtley Community Pool in Tyne and Wear yesterday afternoon.
Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, poses for a photograph with British Olympic and Paralympic athletes Adam Peaty (R), Tom Dean (L), Maisie Summers-Newton (front R) and Louise Fiddes (2ndL).
The Prince also spoke to Tom about his recent exit from Strictly Come Dancing.
“Theft was the word he used, very nice of him,” said Tom, who added that William said his wife Catherine was a “big fan” of the show.
Today, The Prince and Princess of Wales’ Royal Foundation announced a new partnership with Birtley Community Pool to provide swimming lessons and lifeguard training.
Almost one in three children in the UK currently leave primary education without knowing how to swim, according to a May 2021 Swim England report.
As well as funding the Birtley pool, the Royal Foundation also announced it would be partnering with Tom’s company, ‘Swim School’, to provide 1,000 ‘learn to swim packs’ to children across the UK next year.
Tom, a three-time Olympic swimming champion, said: “I was speaking to William… and we are going to work together to provide swimming lessons to places in need… projects like this are brilliant and working with the Royal Foundation is a real honour. .
Prince William met Olympic royalty yesterday during a visit to Birtley Community Pool. Pictured with Adam Peaty
William also announced new plans for the Prince and Princess of Wales Royal Foundation to partner with Birtley Community Pool to offer swimming lessons to people in the surrounding area. Pictured talking to staff
Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, attended a lifeguard trainer training session during his visit to Birtley Community Pool.
‘(Prince William’s visit) is a testament to what this community has done. “To get that nod and recognition from himself (and) the Royal Foundation is really special.”
Attendees added that swimming was going to be a “big focus” of the Foundation in the future.
While greeting royal fans yesterday, William barely revealed a glimpse of his big night at Villa Park the night before when his beloved Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League.
However, as he greeted people who had gathered to see him, the father of three admitted he still felt a little hoarse.
Speaking to the crowd before entering the venue, William was told: “Aston Villa won last night!”
An optimistic William replied: ‘They did it, I know! I lost my voice because I screamed too much last night.
William smiled as he chatted to Peaty, who recently popped the question to Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly.
“Good morning everyone, it’s a pleasure to see you!” said the royal, as she joined local people to celebrate the pool’s reopening and community unity after a fundraising bid reached its target of £20,000.
He also took the time to highlight the importance of swimming as an essential skill, with almost one in three children in the UK currently leaving primary education without knowing how to swim.
The Prince met children from a primary school taking part in their first swimming class in the pool, as well as observing a lifeguard training session.
He seemed very upbeat as he stopped to chat with royal fans and schoolchildren.
William also announced new plans for the Prince and Princess of Wales Royal Foundation to partner with Birtley Community Pool to offer swimming lessons to people in the surrounding area.
The association will also provide lifesaving training to locals, aiming to give young people the opportunity to learn new skills and give them the ability to save lives.
