Here are some photos of Prince William at the reopening of Birtley Community Pool. William was joined at the event by several British Olympians, including Adam Peaty, Louise Fiddes and Tom Dean. This is, I believe, the first in-person event William has done with or for British Olympians after the Paris Olympics. William did not attend the Olympics, nor did he hype British athletes during the games, nor did he wish them luck before the games. The only thing he and Kate did around the games was make a little video congratulating the athletes, which they posted on the final day of the games. To be fair, the Paris Olympics happened smack in the middle of the Waleses’ two-month summer holiday, and they refuse to do any work at all during their summers off. One of the first questions William was asked was why he didn’t go to the games:

Prince William says that he didn’t attend the 2024 Paris Olympics because he “didn’t want to risk” contracting COVID amid his wife Kate Middleton’s chemotherapy treatment.

The Prince of Wales, 42, made the revelation while visiting the reopened Birtley Community Pool in Tyne and Wear, England, on Oct. 3. Many speculated that Prince William would appear at the global games in France over the summer to cheer on his country, as many other European royals did, and he explained that he wasn’t there out of a desire to protect his wife’s health.

“Did you manage to get out [to Paris]?” British Olympic swimmer Tom Dean asked Prince William at the pool on Oct. 3, Hello! reported. The inquiry came up during a conversation with his fellow 2024 Paris Olympian Adam Peaty and Paralympians Maisie Summers-Newton and Louise Fiddes.

“No, I was so keen to come, but I have to say after reading someone’s interview about COVID I decided, because my wife was obviously having chemo, that I didn’t want to risk bringing COVID home, so Adam very kindly reminded me that that was still a thing!” Prince William said, according to the outlet.

“But we watched the whole thing. We were glued to it every day,” he added, apparently referring to his family. The Prince and Princess of Wales are parents to Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, and have evidently passed down their passion for sports.

[From People]

“Adam very kindly reminded me that that was still a thing.” Yeah, this summer had a big Covid wave in North America and Europe. Covid was everywhere at the Olympics. Covid was everywhere before the Olympics too. Which is why it’s weird that William’s Covid concerns were solely and conveniently about the Olympics and not, say, the EUROs, where William flew to Germany to watch several times in July. Or Taylor Swift’s London concerts, where William took Charlotte and George. Or the crowded Royal Box at Wimbledon, where Kate sat for several hours for the men’s final. It sounds more like William was never planning on going to Paris and he only realized he could use “Covid concerns” as an excuse after the fact, after several athletes got Covid at the games.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.