Prince Charles

Prince Charles

Britain's Prince Charles claims he's past his "sell-by-date for surfing."

The 65-year-old royal - the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth - visited Watergate Bay in Cornwall, as part of a three-day trip to the West Country, where he admitted to surfers that his water sports days are long behind him.

Speaking to the beach's Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboat manager Steve Instance, he said: "I'm past my sell-by-date for surfing."

During the visit, the prince - whose sons William and Harry surf - told a group of student chefs that he wishes he could get back into the sea and hit the waves again.

One of the chefs, Carla Viladonmat, told the Daily Mail newspaper: "He said he had done it himself quite a few years ago and wished he could get back out there now."

Charles and his wife Duchess Camilla also spent time talking to Surf Action, a group that teaches the water sport to military veterans in a bid to help them adjust to normal life after serving in the war.

Rich Emerson, one of the charity's founders and a former Lance Corporal in the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, said surfing had helped him after he served in the first Gulf War.

He explained: "It's something to do with the salt water. You get a lot of positive vibrations in the salt water. We mainly deal with a lot of post traumatic stress."