Prince William reveals the real reason he missed the Olympics in Paris in a caring gesture to Kate

Prince William revealed he missed the Olympics in Paris because he did not want to bring Covid home to his wife the Princess of Wales – but the future king said he was ‘glued’ to the television instead.

The Prince of Wales, 42, was speaking to Olympic and Paralympic swimmers at a community pool in Birtley, north-east England, to highlight the Royal Foundation’s new work to boost access to swimming.

The pool was closed due to council budget cuts but reopened last month after fundraising £400,000 from crowdfunding, the government and Sports England – as well as an undisclosed donation from the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

William began the visit with an impromptu walkabout with excited locals, who took selfies, with many having waited since 9am.

He then went inside the pool to meet Paris 2024 Olympians Adam Peaty and Tom Dean and Paralympians Maisie Summers-Newton and Louise Fiddes, who showcased their medals.

Tom asked the Prince: ‘Did you manage to get out there [to Paris]?’

But William responded: ‘No, I was so keen 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, because my wife was obviously having chemo, that I didn’t want to risk bringing Covid home, so Adam very kindly reminded me that that was still a thing! But we watched the whole thing. We were glued to it every day.’

In August, the Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance alongside Prince William to praise Team GB’s Olympian efforts in a star-studded video.

Elsewhere during today’s outing, William revealed that their children were inheriting the water-bug, with the Prince adding: ‘Catherine and I both adore swimming. George loves scuberdiving.

‘He was ten years old, we took him under, thinking he’d freak out, but he absolutely loved it. It’s just introduced him to the world of water.’

They continued to discuss the impact of community pools closing down.

Prince William said: ‘We’ve heard stories up and down the countries of pools closing down, so we thought: ‘no, we want to be able to stop this’. We want to replicate this [Birtley’s pool re-opening] across the country because swimming is such an important part of life. We’re an island nation, we should all have access to learn how to swim.’

The Prince also spoke to Tom about his recent departure from Strictly Come Dancing.

‘Robbery was the word he used, very kind 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 the Birtley Community Pool to provide swimming lessons and lifeguard training.

Almost one in three children in the UK currently leave primary education unable to swim, according to a report from Swim England in May 2021.

As well as funding Birtley’s pool, the Royal Foundation also announced they were forming a partnership with Tom’s company ‘Swim School’ to provide 1,000 ‘learn to swim packages’ to children across the UK next year.

Tom, who is a three-time Olympic swimming champion, said: ‘I was talking to William…and we’re going to be working together to provide swimming lessons for places in need…projects like this are brilliant and working with the Royal Foundation is a true honour.

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

Aides added that swimming was going to be a ‘big focus’ of the Foundation going forward.

William, who looked typically sharp in a smart suit for his outing, admitted he was still feeling hoarse and could be seen pointing at his sore throat after cheering on his beloved Aston Villa to a shock win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League last night

Speaking to crowds before entering the venue, William was told: ‘Aston Villa won last night!’

An upbeat William responded: ‘They did, I know! I lost my voice because I was shouting a bit too much last night.’

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

‘Good morning everyone, so nice to see you!’, the royal said, as he joined local people to celebrate the reopening of the pool and the unity of the community after a fundraising bid hit its target of £20,000.

He also took the time to highlight the importance of swimming as an essential skill, with almost one in three children in the UK currently leaving primary education unable to swim.

The Prince met with children at a primary school who were taking part in their first swimming lesson at the pool, as well as observing a lifeguard training session.

He appeared very upbeat as he stopped to chat to royal fans and schoolchildren.

During the visit, William spoke to Jonathan Carlisle, founder of Swim City. Carlisle told reporters from Chronicle Live that the reopening of the pool was all thanks to Prince William.

He said: ‘First of all we spoke about Aston Villa last night! And then a reform of Swim England and what we think can improve.’

Asked how important he thinks the Prince’s visit has been, he gestured to the crowds and said: ‘I mean, just look. It’s been open two weeks and look how many people turned up today just to see him.

‘It adds that cherry on the cake… but also, what he’s done before this with the foundation and helping the pool reopen. The pool wouldn’t be back open without him.’

The swimming facility hopes to welcome 16,000 people per month including 6,500 children.

Formerly known as Birtley Swim Centre, Birtley Community Pool officially reopened its doors on September 16, just over a after it first closed in 2023 by the council due to lack of funding.

After it shut, determined volunteers set up the Birtley Community Aquatic Centre, with the hopes of being able to reopen the venue as a non-profit venture.

The community worked hard to crowdfund the cash to reopen the beloved swimming pool, and previously said they were ‘delighted’ to have reached their target for reopening.

As a community, we were quite distraught at its closure. We really came together as a set of volunteers to support each other,’ said Yvonne Probert, chair of trustees at Birtley Community Pool in a video posted to social media by Kensington Palace.

She continued: ‘One of the things that’s been really important to us is all the support we’ve had locally.’

Gateshead Council approved a 50-year operating lease to BCAC and they were given the keys to the baths at the end of May 2024.

Volunteers even managed to secure a refurbishment with the help of local businesses and tradespeople.

And over the last new months, volunteers of the BCAC have seen help from the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, who have worked closely with the community to connect them with partners and help them in achieving their goal.

The community also secured funding from Sport England and the Community Ownership Fund.

Through the Royal Foundation’s Community Impact Programme, Kate and William’s charity have also helped out with funding, offered bursaries for local children’s swimming lessons, as well as helping recruit a a Community Outreach Officer to encourage more children to swim.

It comes after William enjoyed in an evening of football yesterday, after spending the match cheering his beloved Aston Villa to victory against Bayern Munich.

The Prince of Wales even confessed his lost his voice cheering on his team at the Champions League game on Wednesday.

The prince is a lifelong fan of the Birmingham-based Premier League team took geat pleasure in being part of the crowd for its first home game in European football’s elite competition for 41 years.