The Prince of Wales hands over BSAC Presidency to The Duke of Cambridge at special event

The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge met the next generation of scuba divers yesterday at a special event to mark the handover of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) Presidency.

The Duke himself took the plunge at the Oasis lido in London’s West End and joined in with a group of young scuba divers and snorkellers.

It was announced in May that The Duke has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather to take over the leadership of BSAC, the UK’s governing body for scuba diving and snorkelling, which celebrated its diamond jubilee last year.

Their Royal Highnesses joined around 100 BSAC members to mark the historic handover and to say thank you to The Prince of Wales for his four decades of loyal leadership at the head of the organisation.

Speaking at the reception, where he was presented with a Lifetime Honorary Member Award by BSAC Chairman Eugene Farrell, The Prince of Wales said: “I feel extraordinarily proud having lasted for 40 years as your President. I’m delighted that my eldest son is taking over from me. I can only assume that his interest probably stems from the fact that I threw him into the swimming pool on many occasions and instead of putting him off, it actually enthused him.”

The Duke of Cambridge later buddied up with 17-year-old scuba diver Tom Billingham to carry out essential safety checks before descending on a short pool dive.

The Duke also joined in with a group of young snorkellers and together they practised putting on masks, fins and snorkels before carrying out a series of snorkelling signals.

The group of excited young BSAC members were then presented with certificates by The Prince of Wales to mark the special part they played on the day.

The Duke of Cambridge, who was presented with a BCD jacket and a scuba T-shirt for his little son George, said at the event: “It is a great honour to be here with my father to accept the role as President of the British Sub-Aqua Club, continuing the Presidency from my father and from my grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh. Like them, I can proudly say I learnt to dive with the Club, and share your passion for the sport and the underwater environment.

“I hope that one day my son, George, might follow in our footsteps. At the moment bath time is quite painful but I imagine as he gets a little bit older, donning a snorkel and mask might calm him down.

“I look forward to working with BSAC to encourage even more young people to dive – to help develop the next generation of underwater explorers, pioneers and protectors.”

While The Duke enjoyed his scuba diving, his father was taken on a short journey through a series of BSAC storyboards which detailed the success of BSAC’s recent underwater litterpick campaign, its diamond jubilee celebrations and the Beachcomber and rock pooling sessions designed for young children to learn about what they can find on a beach.

Eugene Farrell, BSAC Chairman, said: “It was an honour for us to welcome Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge, to this very special event to mark the official handover of the BSAC Presidency from father to son.

“It is the perfect opportunity for us to mark the dedicated patronage which The Prince of Wales has given to BSAC over his four decades with the organisation but also to welcome The Duke who will be the third generation of his family to become President.

“We look forward to working closely with The Duke to inspire a new generation of young scuba divers to discover the rich adventures and opportunities of the underwater world which we all have a shared interest in preserving and protecting.”

The event was held at the Oasis lido by kind permission of Camden Council who own the venue which is managed on their behalf by GLL (Better), the UK’s largest charitable social enterprise leisure provider.

For more information about BSAC, visit www.bsac.com.