William hugged by well-wisher as he meets young marine conservationists

The Prince of Wales was hugged by a well-wisher when he stepped onto a Welsh beach to thank young marine conservationists for raising awareness about the important coastline.

William travelled to Colwyn Bay in north Wales to learn about the work of the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Youth Ocean Network who have been publicising the wildlife-rich area to their peers and adults.

The future King spent his day in the region highlighting opportunities and activities for young people, and joined some of them for a game of pool at an organisation called Youth Shedz, providing safe spaces for youngsters at its headquarters in the village of Mochdre.

When he arrived at the seaside town of Colwyn Bay he chatted to dozens waiting on the promenade, was hugged by one woman, and told another well-wisher: “You’ve been her for a while, I can tell – you’ve got the coldest hands.”

The prince posed for a string of selfies and even helped Tracy Earl, 61, capture the moment on her smart phone.

She said: “He was so polite, he said to me: ‘Have you had to wait a long time?’ And he even said to me: ‘Your phone’s on video I’ll put it on camera,’ to get the selfie.”

In bright winter sunshine, William chatted with young volunteers and Gareth Cunningham, the MCS director of conservation and policy.

After walking along a stretch of beach near the town centre he visited a nearby restaurant and told a group from the MCS’s two-year Hiraeth Yn Y Mor (Longing for the Sea) project which concluded in March: “I know it’s difficult to keep interest in marine things, well done for keeping going.”

The initiative saw young people working with north Wales coastal communities in Prestatyn, Rhyl and Kinmel Bay to increase their understanding of the benefits of the sea, improve the sustainable management of local marine heritage, and promote the health and wellbeing benefits of connecting with the ocean.

Mr Cunningham said later about William: “There was proper engagement, you could see he was really passionate about the project and encouraging us to do more as well.”

Speaking about the significance of the waters off Colwyn Bay, he added: “The whole bay here is globally important for sea birds, it is a really important bit of coastline, but it’s about how we regenerate the sea and: how do we do that with people’s engagement?

“So it’s starting to bring back oysters and other species, that will clean up the water, but also do it in a way that will help people’s health, their engagement, their wellbeing and their livelihoods as well.”

The prince knows north Wales as he spent the early years of his marriage based on nearby Anglesey, flying search and rescue mission with the RAF.

He ended his day in the area by visiting a comedy workshop run by comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean, co-founder of a comedy school for adults and children called Gwneud, Make, Do.

William watched as a group of youngsters were set the task of improvising the pantomime Cinderella in under a minute, while another group was challenged to reduce Aladdin to 60 seconds.

He laughed as the two sets of would-be comics staged surreal and madcap performances and at the end told Ms Pritchard-McLean: “You’ve laid a good groundwork for any wanting to go on in the future.”