Prince William Returns to Special Spot in Wales with Connection to Kate Middleton

Prince William is back on the beach with a mission.

The Prince of Wales, 43, took a walk along the shore town of Colwyn Bay in North Wales to help highlight the difference young people are making in coastal communities on Tuesday, Nov. 25.

It was something of a homecoming for William. In 2011, he and his wife, Kate Middleton, lived approximately 40 miles west of Colwyn Bay on Anglesey, northwest Wales, when the prince was a search and rescue helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force.

In his first stop of the day, Prince William met volunteers and spoke to the young people, aged 13 to 25, who had been involved in the Marine Conservation Society’s Hiraeth Yn Y Môr project this year, which brought together people from nearby coastal towns of Prestatyn, Rhyl, Kinmel Bay and Towyn to increase knowledge of the ocean and improve the sustainable management of local marine heritage. The project also helped promote the health and well-being benefits of connecting with our ocean.

William was last publicly seen on a beach on Nov. 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he played volleyball with Olympian Carolina Solberg on the Copacabana to help highlight work she does for disadvantaged young people in the city.

Then, for his second visit, William headed to Youth Shedz at Mochdre, which co-creates safe spaces with young people who face adverse childhood experiences. The prince joined them at the shed for some 3D printing and gaming and was shown the Youth Shedz’s outreach Bus “Betsi,” which travels to reach young people in the community.

The day in North Wales is set to end on a fun note, as he joins comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean who has co-founded a comedy school, Gwneud, Make, Do. It helps young people develop their talents and open up more arts opportunities for young people, particularly those living in isolated rural locations and those from low-income backgrounds.

Prince William will spend time chatting to the aspiring comedians about their hopes and the challenges they face pursuing a future in the arts in often remote rural and coastal regions.

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William and Kate recently settled into their new home of Forest Lodge in Windsor, but they’ve long had a special connection to Wales — even before becoming the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2022 after Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Prince William trained to become a helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force’s Search and Rescue Force, graduating from the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley, Anglesey, in 2010. According to Tatler, he was the first member of the royal family to live in Wales since King Henry VII in the 1400s.

William and Kate announced their engagement in 2010, adding that they would continue to live in North Wales, where William worked as an air sea rescue pilot for the RAF. Kate made her first official royal outing in Wales a few months later, in February 2011. She joined William at the Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station, where she christened the new Hereford Endeavour lifeboat as William applauded his bride-to-be.

After the couple wed in April 2011, Wales was the setting for William and Kate’s newlywed life. It was also where they spent their first months as parents after they welcomed their first child, Prince George, in July 2013.