Prince William jokes about ‘Harry Potter’ scar he sustained on the golf course as he’s shown a tee made from seaweed on visit to Cardiff

The Prince of Wales has revealed he never played golf again after being hit on the head by a club as a child while admiring seaweed golf tees.

Prince William41, has a fixed ‘Harry Potter‘ scar from where a fellow Ludgrove school student accidentally hit him on the forehead with a golf club in 1991.

The accident, when he was eight, left him with a fractured skull and required major surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Speaking to Pierre Paslier, 2022 Earthshot Prize winner and co-founder of sustainable seaweed product and packaging company Notpla, William gestured to his scar when asked if he played.

‘No, ask me what happened to me here; it was a golf club,” he said.

The Prince of Wales joked about his famous ‘Harry Potter’ scar when he came across a golf tee made from seaweed during his visit to Cardiff today (pictured)

He was reunited with Mr Paslier at a fact-finding seaweed day at Cardiff Metropolitan University to discuss new investment and innovation in the sector.

William met a number of entrepreneurs who are using the superpower of marine plants to create sustainable alternatives to products such as single-use plastics and even pet food.

It marks the last visit in which the heir to the throne could show his great interest in the sustainable use of seaweed to replace environmentally harmful materials.

Speaking to the co-founders of one of the companies in attendance, Welsh regenerative ocean farming company Câr-y-Môr, William admitted that he believes we have only scratched the surface in this area.

“The benefits of seaweed farming are great, it’s kind of an untapped resource at the moment, like we’re scratching the surface,” he told the co-founders.

The Prince added: ‘But for me the social aspect is what excites me most, it’s obviously great for businesses and the market and other aspects, and the environmental side of it is fantastic.

“But the social side of it, especially on the coasts of the world, could be huge. So today it’s about fact-finding, about what we can do.’

He used Tuesday’s event to highlight the various global companies using marine plants, and took particular interest in Seamegrow, a natural biofertilizer developed by a group of seaweed farmers off the west coast of Ireland.

It was during his five years at Ludgrove school that William suffered a golfing accident that left him with his ‘Harry Potter’ scar as a young boy. Pictured on the left in 2002 and on the right in 2000

Prince William (pictured right), 41, opened up about the golfing accident that left him with a head injury during a research visit to Wales to learn about companies and organizations harnessing the benefits of seaweed

The Prince of Wales responds as he visits Cardiff Metropolitan University, where the Earthshot Prize and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales are co-hosting an event to celebrate the seaweed industry and food innovation in Wales

The Prince of Wales (right) speaks to the public during a visit to the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Center at Cardiff Metropolitan University

The Prince of Wales (left) looks at food packaging made with seaweed during a visit to the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Center at Cardiff Metropolitan University

He also toured stalls for Project Blu, the first global pet brand to offer a full range of sustainable accessories and seaweed-based pet food ingredients, and tried out a High Tide seaweed snack bar.

The visit was organized by William’s Earthshot Prize and Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker.

Earthshot companies in attendance included 2023 Earthshot finalist Sea Forest, and Notpla.

The visit was part of the Environmental Prize’s mission to discover and scale breakthrough solutions to the most pressing climate challenges.

It is also hoped that it will motivate companies to invest in the seaweed industry and the solutions being developed as sustainable and ecological alternatives.

Notpla, one of five Earthshot winners in Boston, has proven to be one of the most successful recipients of the award.

The company now supplies sustainable seaweed packaging to seven of the country’s 20 Premier League club stadiums, including Prince William’s favorite Aston Villa FC.

Mr Paslier also highlighted the importance of setting up a seaweed extraction plant in Britain to scale up production to William, citing Wales as the perfect place to do so.

After the pair discussed production options for the sea plant, Mr Paslier said the prince “really knows his seaweed”.

The Prince of Wales (right) speaks to staff testing the salt content of food during a visit to the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Center

The Prince of Wales (left) tastes a snack made from seaweed during a visit to the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Center at Cardiff Metropolitan University

The Prince of Wales (right) speaks to employees during a visit to the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre

As part of his visit to Cardiff, the Prince also toured ZERO2FIVE, the university’s Food Industry Centre.

The world-leading hub aims to provide food companies with technical, operational and commercial support to operate more effectively.

While touring the laboratories, William learned about the practical work the staff were doing, including how to reduce the amount of saturated fat in cakes and extend the shelf life of seaweed bars.

When speaking to staff members about shelf life issues, they told him: ‘Normal bars typically have a shelf life of six to 12 months, while ours at the moment is two weeks… so we’re still finding ways to address this fit and extend. shelf life.’

“Without using a whole bunch of stuff we don’t need in the food,” William added, agreeing they didn’t want to use plastic or artificial preservatives.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the challenge of extending that longer,” he said, adding, “I always find, though, that if the shelf life is too long, you still question the product.

‘There’s always a fine line between wanting to feel like you’re eating something natural and healthy, but that doesn’t last six months because that’s quite a lot.

‘But supermarkets will probably find it difficult to keep the product in stock if it only has a shelf life of two weeks, because they will have to walk around all the time to clear it away.’

He also learned about threshold analysis of people’s flavor profiles and inspected a range of baked goods, some of which were infused with seaweed.

As he left the university, he received three cheers from the gathered crowd of staff and went to greet them before leaving.