Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Prince Charles get the giggles as he rides a bicycle near his country home

The future king launched the charity bike ride from Highgrove


prince charles charity bike ride© Photo: PA
Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
June 10, 2021
Share this:

The Prince of Wales couldn't contain his giggles as he helped to launch a charity bike ride from his country home, Highgrove.

Prince Charles, 72, who admitted he hasn't cycled for years but had got in a quick practice before his public engagement, joined cyclists to kickstart the British Asian Trust's 'Palaces on Wheels' event.

The future king kept his cool in a beige suit in the UK's heatwave as he cycled alongside partipants on a borrowed a British-made Pashley bike. 

READ: Prince Charles and Camilla honour Prince Philip on 100th birthday

WATCH: Prince Charles giggles as he launches charity bike ride from Highgrove

The sponsored bike ride will cover 250 miles over the course of four days, stopping at a number of royal residences along the way. Beginning at Highgrove on Thursday, cyclists will travel through the Cotswolds towards Windsor Castle, onto London to Buckingham Palace, from the Tower of London to Cambridge with riders celebrating the end of the cycle at Sandringham on Sunday.

As Charles heard about their cyclists' previous fundraising rides, he jokingly told the riders after seeing them in tight fitting riding gear that they were "a very good demonstration of why I don't wear Lycra!"

"It's a nightmare getting into it," he added.

prince charles rides bicycle highgrove© Photo: PA

Charles helped to kickstart the charity bike ride from Highgrove

The Prince founded the British Asian Trust in 2007, alongside a group of prominent British Asian business leaders. The charity works to reduce poverty and disadvantage for communities in South Asia. This includes work in areas of anti-trafficking, education, livelihoods, mental health and conservation.

MORE: 15 photos that show Prince Charles' sweet bond with his grandchildren

MORE: 11 fun photos of the royals enjoying a bicycle ride

prince charles cycles charity bike ride© Photo: PA

The route will take riders past four royal residences

The engagement took place on what would have been the Duke of Edinburgh's 100th birthday.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall paid tribute to Charles' late father by sharing two touching images of Prince Philip on their social media pages. The first showed the Duke last July in a ceremony to transfer his role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles to Camilla, and the second, a childhood shot of Charles welcoming his father home from a trip to Malta in 1951.

The caption read: "Remembering The Duke of Edinburgh, on what would have been his 100th birthday."

Charles also became a grandfather for the fifth time over the weekend with the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter, Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity, royal and lifestyle news delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up to HELLO! Daily for all the latest and best royal coverage

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More Royalty

See more