King talks to RNLI crew about small boat rescues

King Charles III spoke to an RNLI crew about small boat rescues in the English Channel during a visit to the Kent coast.

At Walmer lifeboat station on Thursday the monarch spoke to three crew members honoured for a rescue operation 10 miles off the coastline.

A total of four people died and dozens were rescued when the small boat they were on began taking on water in December 2022.

"Do you get a lot of those call outs?" the King asked.

"Not so much here," replied volunteer crew member Daniel Sinclair, adding that stations in Ramsgate and Dover were more used to dealing with Channel crossings.

Mr Sinclair, who has been an RNLI volunteer for 17 years, told the King the small boats were "not very seaworthy" and described the operation as "traumatic".

He told reporters later: "It was a very chaotic and stressful call out for us on board our Atlantic 85.

"We saved five people's lives, stopped them from drowning and it was bitterly cold but the adrenaline kept us going."

The King spoke about the issue of small boats when he delivered a speech at a state banquet on Tuesday, marking the start of French President Emmanuel Macron's three-day state visit to the UK.

He told Windsor Castle dinner guests about the deepening co-operation between the UK and France that will protect against "profound challenges" like terrorism, organised crime and "irregular migration" across the English Channel.

King Charles' remarks came on his first visit to Kent as monarch.

He toured Walmer Castle, an official residence and favourite place of his grandmother up until her death.

He picked up rubbish on Walmer beach, waving his litter picker at the crowd hoping to see him.

He told one resident as he shook their hand: "Those shingles are very hard work".

Deal and Walmer residents gathered in their hundreds as Charles waved and shook hands with many of them.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.