Prince William Returns Poolside for a Special Reason

Prince William is back poolside!

The Prince of Wales, 42, highlighted the benefits of swimming for both physical and mental health as he celebrated the rebirth of a community pool in northeast England on Thursday, Oct. 3.

Prince William’s connection to swimming has deep roots: he was a talented swimmer and also played water polo for both Eton College and the University of St. Andrews where, as a younger man, he wowed in Speedo-style swimwear when starring in, and cheering on, his teammates in university competitions.

In 2019, proud dad Prince William shared that his two elder children Prince George, now 11, and Princess Charlotte, now 9, could swim “quite well” while chatting with Eileen Fenton, the first woman to compete the Cross Channel Swimming Race (a feat she accomplished in 1950). He added that the royals were a “family of swimmers.” (Prince Louis, now 6 but just a year old at the time, was likely too young to be included in the family swims back then.)

In 2022, Charlotte joined her parents Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Commonwealth Games, where they watched a swim meet together. The next year, in October 2023, Kate admitted on an episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast (hosted by Mike Tindall) that she enjoyed taking part in cold swimming.

“The colder, the better. I absolutely love it,” she said on the show. “Slightly to the point where William’s like, ‘Catherine, you’re crazy.’ And it’s dark, and it’s raining.”

Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton is also a swimmer, and she wrote about swimming being one of her go-to workouts while pregnant.

With only one-third of school kids in the U.K. leaving elementary school able to swim, the availability of good facilities to learn to do so is crucial. The Royal Foundation that the Prince and Princess of Wales share has played a vital role in rehabilitating the pool in Birtley, located in Tyne and Wear, and through a new partnership, the Foundation teamed with Birtley Community Pool to provide swimming lessons and lifeguard training.

Soon after arriving on the afternoon of Oct. 3, William was told how the community came together and rallied outside help to save the pool after it was closed in July 2023. It reopened in September 2024.

While at the Birtley Community Pool, Prince William spent time with a local swimming school provider and watched children from an elementary school take part in their first swimming lesson. Grants have been made available by The Royal Foundation to help with the funding of lessons and the teaching of lifesaving skills — a demonstration of which William also viewed.

The prince, 42, was joined by Paris 2024 Olympians Adam Peaty and Tom Dean and Paralympians Maisie Summers-Newton and Louise Fiddes, who told him about the importance of taking up the sport of swimming at an early age and having access to local community pools.

Towards the end of his visit, William took part in a workshop run by The Royal Foundation. It convened groups from the swimming and sports sectors, including Swim England (of which the prince is patron) to discuss the different ways to increase swimming opportunities across the U.K. and discuss solutions required to break down barriers to access swimming by different groups.

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The Royal Foundation also supported a community outreach officer to help increase children’s participation in swimming, as well as helped the Birtley Community Pool’s trustees expand their network of supporters — including Swim England and brands like the aforementioned Speedo.

Now that the Birtley Community Pool has reopened, William’s office at Kensington Palace shared that it’s expected that 16,000 people will participate in swimming activities at the pool monthly, including 6,500 children.