Ruling the waves: Prince Charles the surfer
These images of a young surfer seem like a typical sight on beach on a sunny day in the South West – but they are in fact the first-ever images of Prince Charles surfing in Britain.
The pictures were taken in Constantine Bay in 1973, when the young Prince would leave his Highgrove home in Tetbury and travel to the beaches of Cornwall to slip unnoticed among the local surfers.
It is the first time the images have been seen in public and the first known photograph of him surfing in the UK.
Parked in the corner of the shots are his treasured Aston Martin car, which Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge drove through London after their wedding last year.
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The pictures were donated to the Museum of British Surfing in Braunton, North Devon.
According to locals, Prince Charles – then aged around 24 – didn’t have the greatest of manners when it came to surfing etiquette. They would often swear at the Prince for “drop-ins” on them – where a surfer pushes in on a wave that someone is already riding.
Peter Robinson, founder of the Museum of British Surfing, said: “Britain has a long tradition of royal surfers that gives our culture a unique and fascinating heritage. From at least the early 1900s, our royals have been taking to the waves here, in Hawaii and Commonwealth countries – often taking advantage of the Royal trip to go for a cheeky surf.”
It is thought that the Prince was first introduced to the sport on a royal trip to Australia. Within five years of the pictures being taken, Charles went on to become patron of the British Surfing Association.
In 1978 he hosted the British surfing team at Buckingham Palace before they went off to compete in the World Championships in South Africa that year.
Other royal surfers include Prince William, who has frequently been spotted surfing in Cornwall.
The Duke of Gloucester also opened a wave pool at Wembley Stadium swimming pool in 1934 and surfed in New Zealand while Edward Windsor surfed in Hawaii in 1920.
Comments
by ceedee_
Thursday, June 14 2012, 8:34AM
“Sloppy research! Highgrove House wasn't purchased by the Duchy until 1980.”