The Duke of Cambridge has revealed that he and wife Kate have ensured that their children have been taught an important life skill, as he conducted an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. Speaking to Eileen Fenton, who received an MBE for voluntary services to swimming, Prince William, 37, told her the royals were a "family of swimmers".
Eileen, who was the first woman to finish the English channel race in 1950, told the Press Association: "He said that he and his wife make sure the children can swim and they all go and they swim quite well. I can remember seeing when the Queen was young and her sister Princess Margaret - we used to see them swimming in pictures. He said the whole family have done it."
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© Photo: PAEileen Fenton is made an MBE by the Duke of Cambridge
During February half-term, the Duchess of Cambridge was spotted at a luxury hotel complex in Norfolk, where she enjoyed a swim with eldest children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The mum-of-three reportedly even organised races for the young royals during their visit.
Among the recipients at Tuesday's investiture ceremony was Timothy Angel, director for Angel Costumes, which has designed outfits for several Academy Award-winning films and television series, such as The Crown. Timothy said that William used to buy fancy-dress costumes from his store, when he was younger. He added: "They all dressed up, they dressed up a lot. He had it as his 21st (birthday), he got one from us." Unfortunately, Timothy couldn't remember which costume William had bought!
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© Photo: Getty ImagesThe then Princess Elizabeth wins a life-saving award in 1939
Meanwhile, William appeared to reveal he was a fan of British rock band, The Verve, as he presented soprano Mary Bevan with her MBE for services to music. She said: "He was talking about the orchestra and said, 'How do you find the music?', and I said I was impressed at how quietly they were playing. He said, 'Yes, they're playing some nice tunes, but sometimes I want them to play The Verve'. I think it was just the first band that popped into his head."
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