Ever since he was young, Prince Charles has always been quite active and loved his sports. In a rare video from 1977, the future King can be seen skateboarding with London youths after meeting the youngsters and leaders of Inter-Action UK, before gamely taking a turn on the board himself.
"It seems a wonderful idea to have the go-karting and skateboarding and all these sports in an inner city area," says Charles as he watches the skateboarders show off their skills around him, before laughing: "You have to be jolly careful where you stand."
Speaking to the children, Charles asks: "What are you going to do? What do you call the turn at the other end?" The children tell him the turn is called a kick turn, leading Charles to ask: "You're an expert then? What about looping the loop?"
The group of children then begin bombarding Charles with replies, and arguing over who is an expert, before Charles nervously offers to take a turn. "I haven't done it in such a long time - I have got one of my own," admits Charles, before sensibly deciding to take his turn at the bottom of the ramp.
I'm going to start down here, just to get the idea of it again, I haven't done it in such a long time," he says.
© Getty ImagesCharles then gently skates along while the children cheer him on, before bravely deciding to start at the top of the ramp. "This is more dangerous, isn't it? Had I known in advance that there was skateboarding here, I would of course have bought a helmet and all the other protective paraphernalia."
The then-29-year-old Prince is clearly uncertain of his abilities during the ride down the ramp, but as he disembarks from the board - which flies away in front of him - the children surround him and he thanks the young boy for lending him the board.
He adds: "It takes a lot of time to get the balance, doesn't it? Ah well, I must practice."
© Getty ImagesCharles, now 66, is still young at heart, and was seen showing off his sporting side in April as he opened a new sports center at Dumfries House Estate in Ayrshire. The active Prince couldn't keep the smile off his face as he enjoyed the fun day - before later hopping on to an exercise bike during a class involving dozens of local women.
If Charles, now grandfather to two children, Prince George, who will be 2 in July, and 1-month-old Princess Charlotte, ever wanted to take the sport of skateboarding back up, he could ask young George for his board. The toddler's parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton, were presented with a custom skateboard for him, designed by local artist Caset Zechef, during their royal tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2014.
HRH The Prince of Wales visit to Inter-Action from Fun Art Bus - Inter-Action on Vimeo.
