be the first-ever images of Prince Charles surfing in Britain, Museum of British Surfing reports.
The pictures were taken at Constantine Bay between 1970 and ’73 when the young Prince would often slip into the sea among the local surfers.
It is the first time the images have been seen in public and the first known photograph of him surfing in the UK.
Parked in behind the beach is his treasured Aston Martin sports car, which Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge drove through London after their wedding in 2011.
The pictures were donated to the Museum of British Surfing by surfer Phil Turner from Plymouth who was out surfing with the prince at the time – his wife Marguerite took the photos. “His bodyguard was on the beach, so my wife wasn’t sure if it would be OK taking pictures but she decided to give it a go as Charles left the surf,” said Phil. “Cornish surfers Mick Wingfield and Nick McBrean were in the water that day, and it may have been as early as 1970.”
According to locals, Prince Charles – then in his early 20s – didn’t have the greatest of knowledge when it came to surfing etiquette. They would often swear at the Prince for “dropping in” on them – where a surfer cuts in on a wave that someone is already riding.
Britain has a long tradition of royal surfers – from at least the early 1900s our Royals have been taking to the waves here in the UK, in Hawaii and Commonwealth countries – often taking advantage of the royal trip to go for a cheeky surf.
It is thought that the Prince was first introduced to the sport on a visit to Australia. Within a few years of these pictures being taken, Charles went on to become patron of the British Surfing Association and in 1978 he hosted the British surfing team at Buckingham Palace before they went off to compete in the World Championships in South Africa.
Other royal surfers include Prince William, who learned to surf in Scotland in 2004 while at university and surfed in North Devon during his stag party in 2011. Viscount Ted Deerhurst became Britain’s first professional surfer in 1978. The Duke of Gloucester opened a wave pool at Wembley Stadium swimming pool in 1934 and surfed in New Zealand, while Edward Windsor surfed in Hawaii in 1920 with Lord Louis Mountbatten.
The gallery on your right side shows the pictures of Charles on the beach with his surfboard, his Aston Martin parked at Constantine and an invite for the British Surfing Association reception he hosted at Buckingham Palace.
