The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, visited the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Coach Core UK. This might be Catherine’s last engagement for some time now as from tomorrow Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will be starting their fall term break that will last until the 31st of October. Today’s visit came after the news that the Prince of Wales recently returned to Balmoral Castle where his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died last month and spent some time at Craigowan Lodge.
Earlier this week, The Princess of Wales held an Early year’s meeting and then met with Amanda Berry, chief executive of the Royal Foundation at Windsor Castle. This was Catherine’s 3rd engagement at the Castle. When William and Catherine moved to Windsor it was reported that they will keep Kensington Palace as their London base but eventually might make Windsor Castle their home. We might be seeing a slow transition into that phase.
Capturing the spirit of the 2012 Olympic Games that were hosted in London and after the London riots to encourage the youth towards more empowering and positive prospects, Coach Core UK was established by the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2012 to harness the power of sport, and its ability to change lives and empower young people. Since then both William and Catherine have been actively involved in learning how the charity has been supporting the youth.
“We are looking to develop these young people, not just as high quality sports coaches but also through the mentoring and peer work, as confident and engaging members of society” – Prince William in 2012
Initially, a single pilot programme run with London’s Greenhouse charity Coach Core became 10 programmes running across the country within 5 years. In 2020, having proven sustainability and growth potential, Coach Core separated from The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to become an independent charity.
The original programme, an apprenticeship, trained young people aged between 16 to 24 to be sports coaches and positive role models and mentors in their communities. The apprentices are trained at 7 different locations operated by Coach core – London, Glasgow, Essex, Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, and South Wales. The picture above is from 2017 when Prince William and Catherine visited the Coach core.
Since its establishment, The Coach Core is working towards building a generation of sports coaches who will themselves go on to inspire their communities and has supported more than 750 disadvantaged young people in community sports coaching apprenticeships with 600,000 sports sessions delivered to eight million participants. Apart from the Royal couple, there are many other famous names linked to Coach core i.e. Judy Murray, Max Whitlock and Steph Houghton.
The Prince and Princess of Wales met with the staff and athletes and learned what has been changed and how the charity is supporting youngsters through its 17 different locations now. From Daily Mail, “Kate chatted to Scott Cooper, 26, from Grays, Essex, who completed his Coach Core programme and is now a youth worker with Barking and Dagenham Council. The 26-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was praised by Kate after he said he wanted to motivate others with a disability to become youth workers. He said: ‘I was telling her I wanted to inspire people with disabilities, and she said that I would be an inspiration because of the way I showed grit and determination.’ Gymnast Max Whitlock, a six-time Olympic medallist and a Coach Core ambassador, said: ‘We’re helping a lot more kids involved in sport by providing good coaches, good role models and (helping) these people into full-time employment – which is incredible.‘”
“We are both so proud of all the remarkable progress that has been made. To all the Coach Core apprentices, we want to say well done and also – thank you” – The Prince of Wales
10 years of @WeAreCoachCore
10 years supporting disadvantaged young people
10 years of sports coaching apprenticeships, re-engaging with education and increasing activity levels in local communitiesHere’s to many more years of celebrating Coach Core’s legacy and impact pic.twitter.com/YZlqgYxhPM
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 13, 2022
At the Arena, The Prince of Wales tried his hand at Boxing practice. An avid Football fan, William also played football at the arena. From The Daily Mail’s report, “Having put the Prince through his paces with the boxing gloves, Gabrielle Reid, 18, from Bournemouth, said: ‘He picked it up very fast and he said he had boxed before. I didn’t have to teach him much. I’m not going to forget this experience, it was crazy.’ Fellow Coach Core student Joshua Jones, 21, added: ‘I just went over the fundamentals of boxing I showed him the jab, backhand and I showed him how to throw a one-two, and his stance and guard.”
Moving towards The Princess of Wales Style – Catherine chose another professional yet stylish look for the visit.
The Princess of Wales wore Chanel 1995 Trimmed Double-breasted Jacket. Thanks to Carly from KateMiddStyle for the id. The sold-out jacket was described as “Coco Chanel introduced business wear for women after a tumultuous moment in world history. Chanel’s tweed skirt suits became a symbol of power and change. A refreshed version of the style is presented with this double-breasted jacket, made of a cotton-wool blend in a deep shade of cobalt blue.”
Catherine paired the outfit with a black top and her Roland Mouret Black Axon Wide-leg Trousers that she first wore in December 2021 at the ‘Together at Christmas’.
The Princess of Wales teamed up the outfit with Astley Clarke Round Stilla Lapis Lazuli Pendant Necklace debuted in e in January 2021 during a zoom call to the Nurses
and her Spells of Love Medium Twist Hoops first wore in March 2022 during a Wales visit.
She was wearing her Gianvito Rossi Piper 85 suede pumps.
The #PrincessofWales‘s personal Bodyguard, Sergeant Emma Probert, has been made a member of the Royal Victorian Order today. She received the honour on the Birthday’s Honour list last year.
Emma has been with Catherine since 2010.
Pics: Getty Images/PA/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/VH6dMZUs2C
— RegalFille (@RegalFille) October 13, 2022
Earlier in the day, Prince William held an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. One special name on the list of honour recipients was Sergeant Emma Probert. Emma was made part of the Victorian Order today.
Emma has been The Princess of Wales’s personal protection officer for almost 12 years now. She was first assigned to The Princess in 2010 after William and Catherine’s engagement.
From The Daily Mail’s report,
“Sergeant Probert, a member of Scotland Yard’s Protection Squad is trained in martial arts and also carries a 9mm Glock pistol and a Taser stun gun at all times when with the royals. She is also thought to wear a stab vest while on duty with the royals. Before working for Kate, Probert was in charge of the security for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie”.
