The King was fanned by a top aide today in efforts to battle the heat of the hottest June day ever.
Charles joined delegates from politics, science, business and international climate diplomacy for an environmental reception at St James’s Palace, where temperatures were stifling.
Wednesday was the UK’s hottest June day on record, with a provisional temperature of 35.7C breaking the previous record from the summer of 1976, the Met Office said, which was then surpassed by 35.8C later in the day.
A rare red extreme heat warning came into force for just the second time this morning, covering London, parts of the Midlands, and south-east Wales.
The Met Office has since extended it by three hours until 11.59pm on Thursday and to other southern areas across Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex.
An amber extreme heat warning has also been issued for Friday, which covers eastern and central England, and Saturday for parts of eastern England.
Master of the Household, retired Vice Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, whose department handles official and private entertaining across all royal residences, tried his best to keep the King cool despite the scorching temperatures by holding a small electric fan close to Charles as he chatted to some of the guests.
The historic building does not have air conditioning, and large fans were dotted around the rooms where guests could view stands showcasing green initiatives, and dozens of traditional hand-held fans were given to those attending.
Master of the Household, retired Vice Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, used a small electric fan to try keep King Charles cool on the hottest June day ever
Charles joined delegates from politics, science, business and international climate diplomacy for an environmental reception at St James’s Palace, where temperatures were stifling
At one point in the day he had to wipe away beads of sweat, feeling the heat in St James’s Palace which does not have air conditioning
Some of those attending moped the sweat from their brows, and many fanned their faces as, with the windows closed and curtains drawn against the heat, there was little moving air in the room.
The gathering was aimed at accelerating momentum on super-pollutant action and was hosted by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with speakers including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Earlier in the day, the royal proved he’s the King of cool this during a visit to one one of the world’s leading Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) schools in London – where he met rap star Tinie Tempah.
The monarch donned a heavy suit, in light grey with a pale blue tie and matching pocketchief, despite soaring temperatures outside as he paid a visit to the Roger Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in Hammersmith.
Charles was in West London to learn how the charity REORG uses the martial art to support serving military personnel, veterans and emergency service workers facing mental and physical challenges.
One photo of the 77-year-old king saw him watching on – wearing a pair of plastic overshoes – as two fighters grappled with each other on a training mat.
As the royal watched a range of demonstrations from students of all abilities, the King reminisced on his time in the Royal Navy, joking that their skills resembled him of taking part in a tug-o-war on board HMS Bronington.
King Charles uses a handkerchief to dab his forehead whilst speaking to a guest as he attends a London Climate Week reception
Some attendants of the environmental reception at St James’s Palace – where Ed Miliband (pictured) spoke – had to use fans to stay cool
A fascinated King Charles looks on – wearing protective overshoes – as he watches a Jiu Jitsu match during a West London visit to learn more about the charity Reorg
Gotta start somewhere! The King smiled as he received a white belt from martial arts expert Roger Gracie
Indeed, the King looked almost tempted to join in as he surprised a star student with his Jiu Jitsu black belt.
Charles, who served on the mine hunter during his naval career which spanned from 1971 to 1976, told them: ‘It’s almost like you’re in a tug-o-war. We used to do that on HMS Bronington, but the rope was tied round the stern so you couldn’t see the other team. It was like a pulley system that never ended.’
Appearing on jovial form in spite of the hot weather London is enduring this week, the King spent time chatting to those helped by the charity.
The Monarch spoke to REORG’s founder, Sam Sheriff MBE, a veteran of the Royal Marines – who also holds a black belt in the martial art.
Sheriff established the charity nine years ago and it now has 200 partner academies.
Roger Gracie Academy is one of the world’s leading Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools. Founded in 2004 by 10-time world champion Roger Gracie and his father Master Mauricio Gomes, the academy combines the Gracie family’s traditional approach to jiu-jitsu with modern training methods.
Mauricio Gomes, widely recognised as the ‘Godfather of British Jiu-Jitsu’, played a vital role in spreading BJJ beyond Brazil. An eighth-degree black belt holder, Mauricio has been training and teaching BJJ for over 50 years.
While Charles was presented with his own ‘white belt’, the first colour in the martial art’s belt grading system, he also presented the most coveted colour to a member of the Reorg team.
Ahead of the presentation at the grading ceremony, Sheriff praised student Trent Scanlen for his dedication in being promoted from brown belt to black belt.
The pair met when Trent opened a gym in Richmond in 2015 and Sheriff later introduced him to REORG; he has since gone on to support the military, emergency services and veteran community as a Trustee since 2020.
The King pictured with members of the Reorg team and students of the sport, including founder Sam Sheriff and rap star Tinie Tempah
Sheriff said: ‘There’s very few people on the planet that get to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, that’s because it takes between 10 to 15 years to achieve that.’
Former Royal Marine commando Mark Ormrod MBE told how the sport had given him and others a ‘new lease of life’ after their service.
Mr Ormrod, 42, lost both legs and his right arm when he stood on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve in 2007.
He has gone on to set records through challenges including achieving the world record for the fastest triple amputee 1km swim and raised more than £150,000 when running a 5km (3.2 mile) run in prosthetics.
He said: ‘It might sound ridiculous, but this sport has given me so much.
‘The gift of being in combat with another man, the gift of being challenged every time I step on the mat and the gift of the community that surrounds Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
A few moves? The King, wearing blue plastic overshoes, joked with the martial arts experts during the visit
The King told those gathered at the West London sports centre that the sport reminded him of when he took part in the tug-o-war on board HMS Bronington during his time in the Royal Navy
‘I’ve been in the very fortunate position that I’ve watched Sam grow this organisation from the very beginning and reach thousands of people around the world and I’ve watched a lot of those people’s lives change.
‘There’s no egos in this sport, nothing outside of here matters. We have people from all walks of life, from high ranking military and emergency services personnel, world champions or people just joining the sport. There is honour, respect and patience, and that’s what the King saw today. It was a pleasure for him to visit.’
Roger Gracie said: ‘This was a very historical day, not just for us here but for all of Jiu Jitsu. For our community and for everybody who has ever trained to better themselves. To have the King attend our academy was a great honour.
‘Our sport embodies everything about the community. People come here to train and to celebrate the human spirit and it reflects in everyone around them.
‘The King’s visit is a reflection of the Ju Jitsu, that no matter who you are or where you come from; everyone is welcome.’
Pop star Tinie Tempah, who is a currently purple belt – two away from the top grade – told the King how actor Tom Hardy introduced him to the sport after their met at King’s Trust event in 2018.
He said: ‘So we were both ambassadors for what is now the King’s Trust, that was the Prince’s Trust back then and we were in a line-up and I think he was training for a film, Venom.
The King surprised a Jiu Jitsu student reaching his black belt
‘While we were waiting, you know, we had like 10 minutes to just chat, and he was like, ‘Oh, mate, do you do Jiu Jitsu?’ And I was like, ‘This Jiu Jitsu, I’ve been hearing about it for ages and ages and ages, but I’ve never tried it’, and so he invited me down to a gym he was training at.
It has taken him seven years to earn a purple belt, two below black, and the martial arts had ‘changed my life’ and given discipline, introduced him to father-figure role models, a Jiu Jitsu community across the globe and now his two young daughters ‘love it so much’.
Commenting on his chat with Charles about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu he said: ‘He was basically saying that he’s been wanting to champion this in some capacity for ages, and that has been talking to Idris (Elba) about it, and maybe I could be of service in some capacity, ‘Because he wants to use it to help young people, and I said to him that that is basically my ambition.
Rapper Tinie Tempah, who has been rising up the sport’s belt gradings over the last seven years, pictured meeting the King
‘I want to set up some sort of charity or infrastructure where we can get young people from year nine and upwards who are a bit disenfranchised, maybe they’re from challenged backgrounds, things going on at home, maybe on the verge of going into gangs… to just come (to a club) because there’s hundreds of this around London and the country, hundreds of these clubs.’
Influencer Paul Olima also chatted to Charles about his suggestion of using the sport to support young people. Mr Olima, who has around 15 million followers across social media, said:’I think it’s a wonderful idea to get the kids off the streets.
‘You sometimes see kids hanging about on a corner but if you got them down here they would be different people.’
Charles also welcomed members of the Afghan Refugee Women’s Cricket Team at Clarence House this morning
It’s been a busy day for the monarch, who today also met with members of the Afghan Refugee Women’s Cricket Team at Clarence House.
The King listened intently as an Afghan Refugee Women’s cricket team told him about their ‘terrifying’ ‘escape’ to safety following the return of the Taliban.
Charles heard about their ordeal at being smuggled out of Afghanistan when the the hardline regime resumed control of the country and issued the women with death threats – having banned woman from playing sport – and was given a beautifully-decorated bat as a gift.
Meeting the team at his London residence, the King said: ‘So you had to escape as soon as you could, did you? In 2021?
‘Was it difficult to get out of Afghanistan? Did you get out via Pakistan? And your families managed to come with you?’
Firooza Amiri, 21, told the King: ‘It has been a very difficult and terrifying journey for all of us. There were a lot of Taliban check points. We thought it’s going to be the last one, we won’t survive any more. But we made it.’
The women’s refugee team was set up during the Afghan Republic in 2010, but lost their recognition as a national team following the Taliban’s return to power
The team, which is not recognised by their home country where all women’s sport is banned, is in the UK for a series of matches.
Speaking to the group of 15 players, Charles said: ‘I am so glad you can pursue what you really want to do.’
Charles asked: ‘Did you manage to play cricket in Afghanistan before you left? You didn’t get too many protests when you played, did you?’
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team was formed in 2010 and played several international tournaments despite receiving Taliban threats.
When the regime took control of the country in 2021, a list of their names was circulated on a hit list, which included other female sports players. A female volleyball player for the country’s national team was killed by the Taliban and the women were forced into hiding.
After being contacted by an Indian journalist, a group of Australian women devised a plan to evacuate the cricket team.
Melanie Jones, a former Australian cricketer turned commentator, joined forces with Emma Staples, now the Afghan team’s manager, and Catherine Ordway, a sports lawyer.
By this stage, all flights out of the country were grounded.
Jones said: ‘We ended up getting humanitarian visas with the Australian government and they then expired while some were still in the country.
After being given gifts from the squad, the King joked: ‘I used to play cricket. Very badly!’
‘We had the SAS from the Australian Army on the ground and they helped the players through about 8-11 checkpoints through Pakistan with their families. There were about 134 people we got out.
‘They had a backpack each with their entire lives and had to burn anything that said they played cricket, all their cricket equipment.’
Most of the women now live in Australia, with one in Canada and one in the UK.
They will play the Cambridge University Cricket Club women’s team on Saturday.
‘My old university,’ the King said.
While speaking to the women about how well they had learned different languages, one player asked the King to pronounce a ‘posh’ word for them.
Ekil Latifi, 21, who fled to the UK from Afghanistan at the age of 17, said: ‘Your Majesty, would you give me a posh word, like ‘lavatory’? Do you have one for me?’
Charles laughed and replied: ‘I think I would need advance warning for that.’
Latifi, who came from the western city of Herat, was placed with a foster family after managing to take the last evacuation flight out of Afghanistan to Britain.
She has since worked as a coach at Lords cricket ground and said that the team’s success had a significance for women left behind Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
She said: ‘We’re not just representing our team, it’s about Afghanistan women back in our country and all the things that they can’t do.’
Shabnam Ahsan, 18, from Kabul, said that it was ‘so disappointing’ that the team cannot compete in the T20 Women’s World Cup hosted by England which coincides with their visit because they are not recognised by Afghanistan.
Ahsan added: ‘When we found out we were meeting the King it meant a lot to us and it means a lot back in Afghanistan where women don’t have the right to go out.
‘We’re here to fight for them.’
Hearing that the team now mostly lives and trains in Australia, the King said: ‘You’re getting all that high-powered Aussie coaching – no holds barred!’
Charles had planned to meet the team in the gardens at Clarence House but the event, which was organised through the UK foreign office, was moved inside due to the heat wave.
Walking outside for a photocall, the King was presented with a shirt signed by the players and a decorated cricket bat.
Accepting the gifts, the King laughed and said: ‘I used to play cricket. Very badly!’
The white belt, bat and shirt isn’t the only sporting garment the King has received this month, earlier in June, King Charles was presented with a personalised Grimsby Town FC jersey by the club’s mascot during a visit to Blundell Park.
Charles met the Mighty Mariner during a tour of the club’s home ground in Grimsby, Cleethorpes, as the monarch inspected the black t-shirt that read ‘HM King Charles’ with the number 3.
Last week, the King and Queen attended all five days of Ascot, leading the traditional royal procession down from Windsor Castle to the Berkshire racecourse in a fleet of carriages.
