The Prince of Wales soared to the top of a celebrity leaderboard at a Hastings seafront crazy golf course, after taking on the famous windmill hole.
The Prince, who said he had played mini golf with his family before, played five holes at Hastings Adventure Golf as part of a day out with local young people.
The Hastings course was home to the 2026 World Crazy Golf Championships in June, with competitors from around the world all vying for the sport’s largest prize fund.
Joining teenagers on the seafront, as a small crowd watched, he did not manage a hole in one, but finished respectably.
After the Prince had left at the end of the engagement, the mini golfers averaged his score out across the usual 18 holes, saying that he might have made it in 33 but that they would settle on 35 as a conservative estimate.
The number would place him at the top of a celebrity leaderboard, with comedian Tim Vine in second place with 37, then comedian Henning Wehn with 39, magician John Archer at 41 and presenter and author Fern Britton at 45 – all have played the full 18 holes.
The Prince was introduced to the traditional course by expert players David and Marion Hartley, members of Hastings Mini Golf Club who managed the course for 14 years before they retired, and Murray Thompson, who came second in the World Mini Golf Championships last year.
The Prince of Wales soared to the top of a celebrity leaderboard at a Hastings seafront crazy golf course, after taking on the famous windmill hole
Mr and Mrs Hartley, who are 74 and 75 respectively and both among the country’s leading players, joked that they would not be going easy on the Prince, but would give him tips ‘if he asked’.
The Prince had made it known to them, via his Kensington Palace team, that he was particularly keen to play the windmill hole, which involves hitting the ball through moving sails to send it through the windmill and into the hole.
He hit the ball through on the second attempt, making it a hole in three.
He played four other holes in total – two with the experts and two with local young people – taking two attempts each time to hit the ball into the hole.
The Prince joked that ‘next time he would play with a bunch of eight-year-olds, so I might have more chance’.
Mr Thompson, 41, hit hole-in-ones each time. ‘Stop it Murray,’ said the Prince as he watched him repeat the feat. ‘Oh my Lord, Murray!’
Locals had not been aware that the Prince was visiting the mini golf course, with a few dozen people – friends and family of staff – gathering to catch a glimpse of him before words spread.
The Prince said of his prior mini golf experience with his family: ‘We’ve played a few times. The children love it.’
One player reassured him: ‘We’ll stand back when you swing.’
Prince William in a wooden net shop in the Old Town
William played crazy golf with young people supported by the local youth charity XTrax
The Hastings Adventure Golfo course was home to the 2026 World Crazy Golf Championships in June, with competitors from around the world all vying for the sport’s largest prize fund
Prince William also met school children on the beach during his visit to Hastings, East Sussex, to highlight the town’s fishing community and the vital work of local youth-led and community-driven organisations
The Prince of Wales with young people and volunteers at the Common Room at Eagle House, which functions as a ‘public living room’ and youth club
When he potted the golf ball in two goes for the first straightforward hole, the Prince said: ‘Phew.’
Mrs Hartley gave him some advice for the ‘tricky’ third hole – the Prince took on holes one, three, and five – and he repeated ‘Ok, hug the wood’.
‘You make it look so easy,’ he told his fellow players, as they each got a hole in one through the windmill.
In a second part of the engagement, the Prince met staff and teenagers from Hastings youth charity, XTrax, which works with disadvantaged young people to give them a safe and welcoming space.
He joined five young people to play two extra holes, stopping in between to speak to them quietly and at length about their lives and prospects.
As he left, he wished them good luck in their job search and promised that he would ‘make sure their opinions are heard and respected’.
‘And put on some suncream,’ he said, laughing, as he left.
As he made his way to a waiting car, he stopped to shake hands with around 100 people who had gathered to see and photograph him.
Among them was four-and-a-half-year-old Thea, who was dressed as a pirate after ‘Pirate Day’ at her playgroup, and was happy to shake hands with a ‘real Prince’.
Afterwards, Mr and Mrs Hartley and Mr Thompson assessed the Prince’s golfing skills as ‘better than a tourist’.
William talking to fisherman Steve Gurka in the Old Town, during his visit to Hastings
He also made the time to greet well-wishers during his trip
Prince William aboard a fishing boat
‘Put him under our wing for a few days and he’d be good,’ added Mr Hartley.
‘He’s a lovely man,’ said Mrs Hartley.
Earlier the prince said he was ‘confident’ about England’s chances against Norway this weekend when asked about the football.
The heir-to-the-throne shared his mood when he surprised a class of four and five year olds eating their packed lunches on the beach.
Parent volunteer Ben Tivey, 40, who was accompanying daughter Tilly, five, and other members of Diamond Class at Cranbrook Church of England Primary School, raised the subject of the World Cup, telling William: ‘Come on England!’
The Prince, smiling broadly, replied: ‘I’m feeling confident.’
The group, who were taking part in their first-ever school trip, were amazed to see the future King stroll past on The Stade, the town’s shingle beach.
Moments earlier, William had been presented with a silver winkle as he became an honorary member of The Winkle Club, a charitable organisation founded by local fishermen in 1900 to support deprived families in the area, which now supports good causes and community groups across the town.
‘That’s a stunning winkle,’ said the Prince as he admired the gift, adding with a grin, ‘ I will take good care of my winkle.’
William laughed as he was told how members of the Club, known as ‘Winklers’ carry a winkle shell which they must produce when challenged to ‘Winkle Up’. Failure to do so results in a fine, which is donated to local charities.
There is an exemption for anyone ‘in working gear’, he was told.
‘I might do it on the Trooping the Colour,’ he joked.
Previous holders of the title bestowed by the charitable organisation include Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, the Duke of Kent, Sir Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Lord Montgomery.
The Prince had arrived for a day of engagements in Hastings in style, riding the UK’s steepest funicular railway.
Opened in 1902, the East Hill railway looks out onto Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet on The Stade.
He was greeted by a crowd of wellwishers, including a school party from Germany, several dogs and 15-month-old Sebastian Bowley, who promptly burst into tears when William crouched down to say hello.
‘I know how you feel,’ said the Prince. ‘It’s hot down here! Are you having a dip?’ he asked locals.
He headed first to a row of historic Net Shops – tall wooden structures built to store fishing nets to protect them from the elements. He was welcomed by Steve Peak, honorary curator of The Fishermen’s Museum, and Stephen Roberts-Pratt, the Museum’s manager and shipkeeper.
William ducked his head to enter the tiny Net Shops Museum, a restored 1835 tower which now leans to one side, but has been made safe by the council.
After hearing about the history of the fishing industry in the town, he headed to the beach to hear more from local fishermen.
He stopped to chat to Steve Gurka, who was finishing a fishing net by hand before taking it out in the hope of catching Dover Sole.
He also climbed a ladder to board the Senlac Jack, a fishing vessel used to catch Dover Sole to hear more from Paul and other local fishermen
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