Joe Wicks ‘would love to know’ King’s fitness routine

Fitness influencer Joe Wicks has said he would “love to know” the King’s fitness routine because he “looks in great shape”.

The fitness expert and YouTuber met Charles at Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening at a WaterAid reception held to “bring together young leaders and decision-makers to drive action on climate change”.

Wicks said: “Obviously, I was very nervous, but he was very lovely, very friendly, and put you at ease.”

He added: “I would love to know what he does though, because he looks like he is in great shape.”

Other high-profile guests at the WaterAid event included diplomats, activists, economists and Environment Secretary Steve Reed.

WaterAid, which the King has supported as president since 1991, works to provide clean water across the globe and says extreme floods and droughts caused by climate change are worsening conditions for the 703 million people who live without water security.

Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds told the King: “Water is my life, being a bit of a swimmer, but also drinking water as well!”

She is an ambassador for WaterAid and has supported the charity since 2014 after seeing its work in Uganda.

The King was shown an immersive installation made up of 9.5ft tall screens showing the effects of the climate crisis in Kenya, before meeting a large congregation of guests in the palace ballroom.

Mr Reed said: “It is fantastic that the King is showing his support. Access to water is a fundamental of life and climate change means less access for many parts of the world.”

The event was held in the run-up to the Cop30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil.

Discussing the decision of the Trump administration to pull out of the Paris Agreement, Mr Reed told the PA news agency: “Those countries that want to get together to make a difference will do.”

Archie Panjabi, the Emmy-award-winning British actress who plays Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife, discussed her work on a polio eradication initiative with the King.

“He was very caring and friendly and has this great ability to connect with people,” she said.

Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid, told PA: “We are incredibly grateful for the King’s support. He has been the patron of WaterAid since the mid-1990s, unwavering in his support for our work on adapting, building resilience to climate change.

“My impression was that the King enjoyed meeting the huge range of people that came together today from all walks of life.”