King Charles is a busy man, travelling the world in the name of duty, and gamely getting stuck into all manner of activities during public engagements, so it’s easy to forget that the monarch is approaching 80 – and no longer the young man he once was.
During a visit to Teesside on Thursday, the King reminded the public he's not quite so nimble as he once was, telling a Swiss man he met, "I think my skiing days are behind me."
© Photo: Getty ImagesOnce a keen skier, regularly taking to the slopes with his sons, Princes William and Harry, it's a shame the King no longer feels comfortable taking to the mountain – and it's not the only passion he's admitted he has retired from.
In October, during a visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens, a young royal fan asked King Charles his favourite sport, to which the King replied: "I can't do much now, too many injuries."
Indeed, the King reportedly suffers with "constant pain in his neck and back," according to Prince Harry, who wrote in Spare that his father's ailments are down to "old polo injuries."
Despite his pain, Queen Camilla was quick to praise her sprightly husband on BBC Radio 5's The Emma Barnett Show in June 2020, saying of the King: "He is probably the fittest man of his age I know."
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"He'll walk and walk and walk. He's like a mountain goat, he leaves everybody miles behind."
© WPA Pool, GettyShe went on to detail her husband's most-loved country pursuit, explaining: "Whether he's hedge-laying in the pouring rain, striding, like a mountain goat, up impossibly steep Highland hills, planting trees in the arboretum or pruning at Highgrove, this is where he finds true peace."
While he may no longer be able to ski or play polo, the King still has an impressive health routine. In November last year, when talking to sprinter Desiree Henry, King Charles revealed that he "exercises twice a day", performing "squats and does the pull-up bar" – impressive!
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The King appears to have passed his polo skills on to his youngest son, Prince Harry, who plays at a professional level in California, while Prince William is still a keen skier, normally heading to the slopes during the easter holidays with Princess Kate and their young family.
© Getty ImagesQueen Camilla on the other hand, doesn't enjoy skiing, with her son, Tom Parker Bowles writing in The Times this week: "My mother hated skiing, so she'd send us up the mountain with a guide while she sat and read her book. She'd come up in the ski lift to meet us for lunch."
At least the Queen has someone to join her for slopeside lunches now her husband has hung up his ski poles.
