- King Charles III has surprised fans
- THIS is one of his hobbies
- He has passed it on to his children
Unlike many of his predecessors on the throne, the late Queen Elizabeth II included, Charles is a man of many hobbies. He likes going for a walk, watching polo, and he is also a surprise scuba diver! Who would have guessed that? The secret is out thanks to his latest visit. On Friday, the monarch made an unannounced trip to the Global Underwater Hub in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Charles in on holiday there and took advantage of the occasion to make himself known. Charles, checked out exhibits on underwater diving technology, underwater 3D image capturing and eco-friendly artificial reefs, and he mingled with officials and senior students from the nearby Mintlaw Academy.
Charles likes to get underwater
The King's visit was a most welcome surprise for those there. But why would the monarch choose to visit? Well, it's simple, really. The Global Underwater Hub is the leading trade and industry development body for the underwater sectors in the United Kingdom and represents businesses operating in the U.K.’s $9.7 billion underwater industry. This makes it of great importance to operations in the country.
But besides that, the organization’s office is only an hour's drive from Balmoral Castle, where the King and Queen Camilla might have spent the week following their three-day state visit to France. So, one can say it was on their way.
As was to be expected, social media went wild with Charles' visit. "Did you know that The King is the first British monarch to be a qualified diver? In 1975, His Majesty undertook a half-hour dive under Arctic ice at Resolute Bay, Canada," courtiers wrote on X, posting a throwback photo of Charles suited up in scuba gear for the icy dive.
"Years later, The King dived underwater onto the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's warship, nine times before it was raised from the seabed in 1982," read a second message, along with a shot from one of Charles’ diving excursions.
It's always nice for royals fans to get a glimpse into the past, and it's also refreshing to see a member of the royal family cut loose for a change. This kind of visit is certainly helping to humanize the monarchy after a lot of criticism in recent years. His interests in gardening, organic farming and the outdoors are well-known, bus his scuba skills have remained more under the radar. Even so, it seems that he’s passed down the passion to his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
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During their Caribbean tour last year, Prince William and Kate Middleton surprised fans by sharing footage from a private scuba dive they took at South Water Caye during their time away. In an upbeat video, the royal couple jumped into the water in scuba gear and explored the Belize Barrier Reef. At one point, they exchanged the "OK" symbol while swimming side-by-side.
"On Sunday, we were lucky enough to spend time diving at South Water Caye, directly above the spectacular Belize Barrier Reef. It was a privilege to see for ourselves the world-leading ocean conservation work being done here," they captioned the clip on Instagram.
More recently, Prince Harry went scuba diving with in Hawaii in November 2022 to promote interest for the Invictus Games at The Hague in The Netherlands. Some things get passed down no matter what. Even despite, their differences, it seems this is one passion Charles and Harry still share.
