Prince William returns to Eton lake for a charity event
The Prince of Wales took part in a charity row with members of HMS Oardacious.
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Prince William recalled his rowing days at Eton while taking part in a Royal Navy row for Mental Health Awareness Week.
The Prince of Wales, 40, who joined the public school in 1995, picked up an oar and joined crew members from HMS Oardacious – a charity set up in 2019 to provide mental health and wellbeing support to submariners – for a rowing trip at Dorney Lake, also known as the Eton College Rowing Centre, in Windsor.
The Eton alumni, who went on to obtain a Master of Arts degree in Geography from the University of St Andrews, where he met his now-wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, met with Lieutenant Commander Hugo Mitchell-Heggs, who is an Oardacious member.
He told the Marine Engineer Officer of his return to the lake: “It’s nice to be back in Dorney on a nice sunny day."
When asked if he was ready to row, William joked “the likelihood of slapping someone else’s oars" was high.
He didn't continue his rowing when he studied at St Andrews, according to The Telegraph.
Referring to his experience in the Royal Navy and Royal Airforce, he said: "Understanding our support networks is crucial because a lot of people don't have those support networks. I think in the military, we're very good at forming close bonds and realising the only way we're going to get through all this is by helping each other."
William's sport of choice is football and the future King is President of the Football Association and a loyal Aston Villa supporter.
He recently congratulated Chelsea on their historic victory in the Women's FA Cup Final.
The prince was on hand at Wembley Stadium in London on May 14 to see the side beat Manchester United 1-0 to claim their third successive victory in the Vitality-sponsored tournament and he has praised both teams for their efforts in the game.
Sharing a selection of photos from the day on the Instagram account he shares with his wife, William - who handed out metals and the trophy after the game – wrote: "Historic day. Incredible atmosphere. Record breaking crowd.
"(Trophy emoji) Congratulations @chelseafcw on retaining the Women's FA Cup and commiserations @manutdwomen – you can be rightly proud of your journey throughout the tournament. (Clapping emojis.)"
A world-record crowd of 77,390 saw Sam Kerr put the Blues ahead in the second half after their opponents previously had a goal ruled out for offside just minutes after kick-off.
