Prince Charles has to step in when Prince William misses basketball hoop
It was a rare and touching public display of camaraderie.
Prince William needed a little helping hand from his dad today as he repeatedly tried – and failed – to shoot hoops during a rare joint royal visit.
The Duke of Cambridge joined in a game of wheelchair basketball alongside veterans at a new military rehabilitation centre.
He confidently wheeled up to the mark but proceeded to miss his target three times, to groans from patients, staff and even his own family.
Prince Charles then stepped in to aid his eldest son in a rare public display of camaraderie.
The Prince of Wales grasped the back of the wheelchair and moved it a few feet closer to the basket.
As William missed his fifth shot, Charles placed his hands around his son’s neck and jokingly shook him.
To raucous cheers it turned out to be sixth time lucky as the ball finally went in the hoop at the new state-of-the art Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) near Loughborough.
The visit was a very rare joint appearance by Charles, William alongside Camilla and Kate.
The facility, run by the Ministry of Defence, opened in October 2018 and provides rehab for military personnel suffering with battlefield or neurological illnesses and injuries.
The foursome met patients undergoing therapy, visited a prosthetics workshop and stopped to check out the gym where the wheelchair basketball game was underway.
Major Les Reid, who is at the centre after sustaining an ankle injury in a climbing accident, encouraged William to take his place in the match.
He recalled: ‘He wanted to try it and see how difficult it was. Which it is, as you can see – he needed some help from his dad. He got it on the last attempt.’
William was patron of the DMRC appeal and attended the official handover of the newly-built centre to the nation in June 2018.
The idea of the centre is a ‘dual approach’ to rehabilitation through both mental well-being and occupational health.
The Duke of Cambridge spoke to staff and noted that the patients would be ‘surrounded by their brothers’ in rehabilitation.
The four royals met patients and staff, including Lieutenant Colonel Andy Williams, of the RAF Regiment, who is undergoing treatment after a severe head injury sustained in a road accident.
His wife Sharon, from Bath, told Camilla that her husband, who is in a wheelchair, suffered a traumatic brain injury 19 months ago when a cement mixer crushed his vehicle.
The mother-of-four said: ‘I told her about Andy’s accident and how much of a positive effect this centre has really had. Instead of giving up on him, they try here.
‘They’re trying to get him to communicate. He held a pen and drew a picture, which we never thought we would see him do.’
The four royals are likely to have to increase their number of duties after Harry and Meghan stepped down from working life to pursue ‘financial independence’ in Canada.
Today, the Queen returned to London from her winter break at Sandringham while eldest grandson Peter Phillips announced he and his wife Autumn will divorce.