Prince William showed off his boxing skills when he visited Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  

The Prince of Wales and his wife Kate went to the Copper Box Arena on October 13 to celebrate the decade anniversary of the charity Coach Core, established by his Royal Foundation. 

Now an independent charity, Coach Core uses community sports apprenticeships to help young people who are unemployed.  

In a speech at the former London 2012 venue, Prince William spoke of the “incredible achievements” of the organisation. 

He said: “Sport has an incredible way of providing hope, connection and opportunity and when Coach Core was established ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, it was designed to use that power to help change young people’s lives. 

“Since then, more than 750 young people have been supported through the programme, with 600,000 sports sessions delivered to eight million participants. 

“We are both so proud of all the remarkable progress that has been made. To all the Coach Core apprentices, we want to say well done and also – thank you. 

“We all face barriers and challenges in life, and these can sometimes take incredible bravery to overcome. Not only have you faced these down, you have positively impacted the lives of others along the way and inspired many more.” 

Newham Recorder: The Prince of Wales speaks to representatives from Coach Core at the visit to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Picture: PAThe Prince of Wales speaks to representatives from Coach Core at the visit to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Picture: PA (Image: PA)

He also donned gloves and was put through his paces under the watchful eye of amateur boxers Gabrielle Reid, 18, and 21-year-old Joshua Jones – who are both two months into their Coach Core courses. 

Ms Reid said: “He picked it up very fast and he said he had boxed before. I didn’t have to teach him much. I’m not going to forget this experience, it was crazy.” 

The 21-year-old added: “I just went over the fundamentals of boxing. I showed him the jab, backhand and I showed him how to throw a one-two, and his stance and guard. 

“He enjoyed it, he said he’d done a bit before but had a little knuckle injury so wouldn’t be taking it up any time soon.” 

While the prince was boxing, Kate tried wheelchair bowls at the same venue.  

She sat down to make up a team of three and laughed as her efforts rolled past the jack or missed the target. 

The princess chatted to Scott Cooper, 26, from Grays, who completed his Coach Core programme and is now a youth worker with Barking and Dagenham Council. 

The 26-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said: “I was telling her I wanted to inspire people with disabilities, and she said that I would be an inspiration because of the way I showed grit and determination.”