Sweet moment Prince William talks to the 91-year-old swimmer outside the community pool – and asks her a cheeky question

The Prince of Wales had a heartwarming interaction with a 91-year-old during his visit to a community swimming pool yesterday afternoon.

Prince William, 42, chatted to a well-wisher named Mavis Townsend outside the Birtley Community Pool in the North East as he reopened the site.

In a moving conversation, Mavis told the heir to the throne about her connection with the pool, saying: ‘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, who held a Union Jack flag, added: ‘When I was a child we didn’t have swimming lessons at the schools we came to here every Saturday morning, it was the only swimming pool in the area.’

The Prince of Wales appeared cheerful as he chatted to 91-year-old Mavis Townsend outside the Birtley Community Pool in the North East

William joked back: ‘Are you going swimming soon? It has a water slide, 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 have to visit the care home, please say hello to everyone in the care home for me.’

After asking her name, he added, “It’s very nice to meet you, Mavis. Thanks for coming out today. I hope you have a nice rest of the day.’

Elsewhere, before talking to Mavis, William greeted other members of the crowd with a handshake. He said to someone, ‘You have cold hands; I know you’ve been here a long time.’

The Prince of Wales revealed during his visit to the community pool yesterday that his eldest son, Prince George, is an avid diver.

Prince William chatted with Team GB Olympians, including Adam Peaty and Tom Dean, at the Birtley Community Pool in the North East as he reopened the ground.

While chatting to the elite swimmers, he revealed that he and his superwife Kate, 42, ‘adore’ the sport – and that their 11-year-old son has picked up a more daring underwater activity.

He said: ‘Catherine and I both love swimming. George likes to dive.” William added: “He was ten years old, we took him thinking he would panic but he absolutely loved it. It just introduced him to the world of water.”

Prince William chatted with Mavis, who affectionately told him about her connection to the community pool

The father of three asked Mavis to say hello to everyone at the care home where she currently lives

Elsewhere during the visit, father-of-three William revealed why he was not at the Paris Olympics to cheer on Team GB in August, opting instead to support the team from home.

Tom asked William, “Did you manage to get out of there?” [to Paris]?’

William replied: ‘No, I really wanted to come but I have to say after reading someone’s interview about Covid [looking at Adam Peaty – who tested positive during the games] I decided, since my wife was clearly having chemotherapy, that I didn’t want to risk bringing Covid home, so Adam very kindly reminded me that that was still a thing!

‘But we looked at everything. We were stuck with it every day.”

During the visit, William also met Paralympians Maisie Summers-Newton and Louise Fiddes, who showed off their medals.

They continued to discuss the impact of community pool closures.

Prince William said: ‘We’ve been hearing stories all over the countries about swimming pools closing, so we thought, ‘No, we want to be able to stop this.’ We want to replicate this [Birtley’s pool re-opening] throughout the country because swimming is such an important part of life. We are an island nation and we should all have access to learn to swim.”

Prince William impressed yesterday afternoon when he visited the Birtley Community Pool in Tyne and Wear

Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, poses for a photo with British Olympians and Paralympians Adam Peaty (R), Tom Dean (L), Maisie Summers-Newton (front right) and Louise Fiddes (2nd L)

The Prince also spoke to Tom about his recent departure 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 Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales announced a new partnership with Birtley Community Pool to deliver swimming lessons and lifeguard training.

According to a May 2021 Swim England report, almost one in three children in Britain are currently leaving primary education unable to swim.

In addition to funding Birtley’s swimming pool, the Royal Foundation also announced that they are partnering with Tom’s company ‘Swim School’ to offer 1,000 ‘learn to swim packs’ to children across the UK next year.

Tom, a three-time Olympic swimming champion, said: ‘I spoke to William… and we will be working 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 the Olympic royal family yesterday during a visit to the Birtley Community Pool. Pictured with Adam Peaty

William also announced new plans for the charity The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales to partner with Birtley Community Pool to offer swimming lessons to people in the area. In the photo I am talking to staff

Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, attended a lifeguard coaching training course during his visit to Birtley Community Pool

‘[Prince William’s visit] is a testament to what this community has done. Getting that nod and recognition of oneself [and] The Royal Foundation is truly special.’

Aides added that swimming would be a “big focus” of the Foundation going forward.

As he greeted royal fans yesterday, William gave away barely a hint of his great evening at Villa Park the night before, when his beloved Aston Villa defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League.

But as he said hello to the people who had joined him, the father of three admitted he still felt a little hoarse.

Addressing the crowd before entering the venue, William was told: ‘Aston Villa won last night!’

A cheerful William replied: ‘They did, I know! I lost my voice because I was yelling a little too much last night.”

William beamed as he chatted to Peaty, who recently popped the question to Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly.

“Good morning everyone, nice to see you!” the royal said as he joined locals to celebrate the reopening of the pool and community unity after a fundraising bid reached its £20,000 target.

He also took time to emphasize the importance of swimming as an essential skill, with almost one in three children in Britain currently unable to swim beyond primary school.

The Prince met children at a primary school taking part in their first swimming lesson in the pool, and observed a lifeguard training session.

He seemed very cheerful as he stopped to talk to royal fans and schoolchildren.

William also announced new plans for the charity The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales to partner with Birtley Community Pool to offer swimming lessons to people in the area.

The partnership will also offer lifeguard training to local people, giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills and give them the opportunity to save lives.