King Charles asked RNLI lifeboat crew whether they “get a lot” of small boat rescue call outs during his visit to a Kent station today.
Charles spoke to the RNLI volunteers about their work when visiting Walmer Beach, near Deal Castle.
It comes two days after the King spoke about the issue of small boats when delivering a speech at a state banquet, marking the start of France’s President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day state visit to the UK. The following afternoon, Charles and Macron were seen enjoying a warm embrace.
Among the volunteers meeting the king on Thursday were three crew members who were being honoured for a rescue operation 10 miles off the coast on December 14, 2022.
Reports from that day indicate that four people died and 43 were rescued when a small boat began taking on water.
Volunteer Daniel Sinclair told the King the small boats were “not very seaworthy” and described the operation as “traumatic”.
“Do you get a lot of those call outs?” Charles asked.
“Not so much here,” replied Mr Sinclair, adding that stations in Ramsgate and Dover are used more often for channel crossings.
On Tuesday, the King told the Windsor Castle dinner guests about the deepening co-operation between the UK and France that will protect against “profound challenges” like terrorism, organised crime and “irregular migration” across the English Channel.
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would tackle illegal migration with “new tactics” and a “new level of intent” ahead of crunch talks to hammer out a deal with Mr Macron.
The French president said the UK and France “share the same will” to address the issue at the start of a Franco-British summit at Downing Street.
Mr Sinclair told the PA news agency: “We went to a call out on December 14 2022, for a small boat taking on water with multiple people in the water, it was a very chaotic and stressful callout for us on board our Atlantic 85.
“We saved five people’s lives, stopped them from drowning and it was bitterly cold but the adrenaline kept us going.”
He has been an RNLI volunteer for 17 years after joining up when he turned 18.
The King then went on to pick up rubbish on Walmer Beach, waving his litter picker at the crowd of residents hoping to see him.
He told one resident as he shook their hand “those shingles are very hard work”.
Deal and Walmer residents gathered in their hundreds as Charles waved and shook hands with many of them.
One man, wearing nothing on his top half, admitted “I’m a bit underdressed, aren’t I?” which the King chuckled at.
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