Kate shoots straight and William blames his shoes on sporty Midlands visit
Watch: William and Kate mark Mental Health Awareness Week
Prince William has blamed his shoes after attempting some keepy-ups while visiting a youth club in Wolverhampton.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared a video on social media of them taking part in a few sports with young people at The Way Wolverhampton Youth Zone, and added the comment "blaming the shoes" for the prince's football offerings.
The video showed the couple playing ping pong outside and then showed William, in a suit, trying out some football skills.
The royal couple are in the West Midlands where they are making a number of engagements linked to mental health causes and issues.
Their first stop was the youth zone where they also took part in archery and gardening.
Trying out a keepy-up challenge, William said: "I’ve got no left foot at all. I can’t not have a go, that’s the problem."
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Todays visit is all about understanding local organisations here in Wolverhampton.
Organisations that are motivating and inspiring young people to transform their lives. #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
(P.S blaming the shoes for ⚽️ attempts) pic.twitter.com/UK4j3eBfHh— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 13, 2021
The competitive couple could not resist the opportunity to play each other at table tennis, and joked around with each other during a doubles match.
William shouted: "Come on Catherine!" as he encouraged her to join their group.
He added: "Catherine is really good at table tennis."
As they played he said: "This could go on for hours.
"Talk amongst yourselves!"
The couple met experts in youth and mental health, with the duke admitting he doesn't feel young any more.
He said: "We are still calling ourselves young, but we are not."
Kate, 39, was presented with a gift for her oldest son Prince George, who is seven, of a graffiti style sign with his name.
Other videos from the visit showed the couple laughing together as they took part in a gardening session with the young people.
William, 38, recently admitted he was not very good at gardening and said wife Kate was trying to get him into it so that he could do some with his father, Prince Charles.
The couple has long carried out work related to mental health and the duchess in particular has emphasised the importance of being outside for good wellbeing.
She created a garden in 2019 for the Royal Chelsea Flower Show to reflect her love of nature and how it helped her over the years.
After the stop at The Way, they went to Base25, a charity in the city centre that works with children who have difficulties in accessing mainstream services.
The charity works with 9000 young people a year and provides counselling and a daily drop in centre.
The royals spoke to young people who use the services and met the staff who have been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their final stop of the day was with HugglePets in the Community, a group which brings animals into the classroom to help children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
William looked particularly taken with a guinea pig named Gus, and also met a Barbara the bearded dragon.
He even asked: "He looks very cuddly, can I have a cuddle with Gus?"
Kate watched as William played with Gus, and joked "my jacket’s covered in white hair". He added that Gus had "such a funny nose, such funny eyes and a cute brown nose".
Meeting the bearded dragon later, William said: "Wow, look at this guys he’s so cool, never heard of a bearded dragon before."
Read more: How Prince Harry became a mental health champion
HugglePets in the Community works with more than 25 different schools in the Black Country, offering Animal Assisted Intervention programmes to help children with their wellbeing.
They address topics like anxiety, low mood, confidence and resilience building and suicide awareness.
William and Kate joined a session with pupils from Loxdale Primary School, before visiting the centre’s Sensory Activity Centre and Community Aquarium.
On Friday the couple will lead the annual mental health minute, which sees all radio stations across the country united in sharing the same message at once.
At 10.59am, William and Kate will be joined by David Beckham, Dame Shirley Bassey and Charles Dance to encourage the nation to keep talking.
Also featured in the broadcast are musician Anne Marie, chef Jamie Oliver, England footballer Jesse Lingard and actress Joanna Lumley.
The message will support Shout, the 24/7 text message helpline which was developed by William and Kate's Royal Foundation.
William revealed he had been volunteering on the platform last year.
Watch: Prince William pays tribute to Sgt. Matt Ratana
