Prince William missed Olympics as he 'didn't want to risk bringing Covid home' to Kate

The Prince of Wales has said Covid fears for his wife stopped him from going to the Paris Olympics, but his family was still "glued" to the action.

Williams spoke to British medal winners Adam Peaty and Tom Dean, and Paralympians Maisie Summers-Newton and Louise Fiddes at Birtley Community Pool in Gateshead on Thursday.

Referencing Peaty's positive Covid test during the Olympics, he said: "I was so keen to come but, I have to say, after reading someone’s interview about Covid I decided because my wife was obviously having chemo, that I didn’t want to risk bringing Covid home.

"So Adam very kindly reminded me that was still a thing. But we watched the whole thing. We were glued to it every day.”

William was at the centre to promote swimming.

He told the four athletes that he and the Princess of Wales "adored" swimming and his son George has taken up scuba diving.

He said: “Catherine and I both adore swimming.“George loves scuba diving. He’s 10 years old. We took him under thinking he would freak out. He absolutely loves it.“It’s just introducing him to the world of water.”

Referring to the pool, he said: “We want to replicate this across the country because swimming is such an important part of life.

“We’re an island nation, we should all have access to learn how to swim.”

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William, being an Aston Villa fan, was congratulated on his team’s Champions League victory over Bayern Munich as he went for a walkabout at the event.

The pool opened in 1974 but was closed by Gateshead Council in July 2023 due to costs.

The prince was told that the community came together to support efforts to reopen the pool through a crowdfunding campaign.

This is the Talking Royals - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson