King Charles visits £58m laboratory dedicated to developing net-zero flight technology 

King Charles was straight into the thick of the action on his first day back at work after his Coronation as he rushed to the aid of a dignitary who got her heel stuck in the mud at a ground-breaking event.

The newly-crowned monarch had just put his spade down at the site of a new high-tech laboratory in Cambridge when one of Dame Polly Courtice's shoes sank into the grass, leaving her momentarily stranded.

She was still trying to remove it when the King spotted her predicament and went over to support her while she freed herself, to the delight of the crowd who laughed and applauded.

Afterwards, Dame Polly - emeritus director of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership - said the grass had been 'very soft', adding: 'He was very kind. My shoe got stuck in the ground and he gallantly supported me.'

Moments earlier, Charles had jokingly complained that the turf had already been loosened for him as he dug out a patch with a spade at the spot where the new Whittle Laboratory, which specialises in aerospace and energy, will be built.

The King gave a speech and forced a spade into the ground on the site of the £58m research facility, as planned, but the task of helping Dame Polly Courtice - emeritus director of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership - whose shoe became trapped in the grass, was perhaps not in the script

King Charles raises a shovel in the air after breaking ground at the Whittle Laboratory's new research facility 

Clearly in a jovial mood, Charles jokingly complained that he had been looking forward to doing 'a little gardening' when he found the turf had already been loosened for him and triumphantly lifted the spade above his head to applause and laughter

Despite the rigour of the historic weekend, which saw the 74-year-old crowned in Westminster Abbey before dancing at the concert in his honour at Windsor Castle the following day, he said: 'Don't tell me it's already been done?

'It's very unfair. I was rather looking forward to doing a bit of gardening.'

After digging up the clod of earth, Charles waved the spade aloft triumphantly before pushing it into the ground.

He then turned around and noticed Dame Polly's predicament and went over to help her.

Afterwards, he walked to a stage to unveil a plaque and spoke of his 'enormous admiration' for the lab and the 'critical' role of the aviation sector.

He told 170 invited guests, including Energy Secretary Grant Shapps: 'I can't tell you what a joy it is to be here, my third visit. I think you'll probably be getting fed up of me by now.'

The new £58million facility, which will stand alongside the existing lab, will be a leading global centre for 'disruptive innovation' in net zero aviation and energy.

It is at the heart of an international collaboration including Nasa, MIT, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

The project aims to halve the current six to eight years it takes to develop technologies that will make the industries more sustainable.

The King toured the facility, opened in 1973 by jet engine inventor Sir Frank Whittle, before taking part in a round table discussion with academics - which overran as he discussed the impact it should have by adopting a 'Formula 1' mentality where the move from theory to practical applications is dramatically shortened.

He arrived by car and was afterwards understood to be heading towards Sandringham, his Norfolk estate, where he and the Camilla will recharge their batteries after the weekend of celebrations.

They are expected to stay there for the rest of the week and possibly early next week.

During the Coronation, whose theme was 'Called to Serve', Charles pledged: 'I come not to be served but to serve.'

He and wife Camilla also then pledged in a written statement to rededicate their lives to service as Charles expressed gratitude for the nation's support throughout the historic celebrations, and as the weekend of festivities drew to a close he issued a written message, saying: 'We thank you, each and every one.' 

King Charles III arrives for a visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge to break ground on the new laboratory

King Charles III is welcomed by (left to right) Minister of State at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman, Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, Dr Bharatkumar Khetani, as he arrives for a visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge

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In a speech at the site this afternoon, Charles said: 'What Rob Miller [director and professor of aerothermal technology] is doing here, with the Whittle and his remarkable team – of course, the key exercise of all this is to keep the team being and expanding and not lose all these remarkable people who have the innovative capacity and the engineering skills to help lead what we need so badly and so urgently in order to save this planet from increasing catastrophe.

'And of course, the aviation sector is critical in all this, as are many other sectors.

'But the more we can do, the faster we can do it, with the kind of systems you have here at the Whittle to accelerate the research and development, is so important and encouraging.

'And if I may say so, finally, the great thing is to be working with other countries, transatlantic partnerships, and indeed I hope others who will be part of this real and exciting effort to transform and revolutionise the way we can travel in the future.

'So, I just wanted to offer my warmest congratulations to all those here and particularly as an old graduate of Cambridge University, albeit an arts one!

'I am full of admiration for the incredible activities which go on here in engineering and so many other fields. 

'This country's greatest strength lies in innovatory skills. The most difficult part is making sure we help to develop those skills and the ingenuity to real product development.'

Charles visited Whittle back in 2020, when the-then Prince said: 'The need to de-carbonise flight must remain at the top of the agenda.

'While many are calling for net zero flights by 2050, I would like to challenge you all to think about halving that time frame to 2035.' He visited again last March. 

But in his first speech following his mother's death last year, Charles vowed to uphold the constitutional obligation of British monarchs to stay above the political fray, as the late Queen did.

'It will no longer be possible to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I cared so deeply, but I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others,' he said.

In a 2018 documentary to mark his 70th birthday, the then-Prince Charles also said he would change his behaviour when he became king.

'The idea, somehow, that I'm going to go on in exactly the same way, if I have to succeed, is complete nonsense because the two - the two situations - are completely different,' he said.

King Charles III during a visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge to break ground on the new laboratory

Charles donned a grey checkered suit, light blue shirt and patterned tie during his tour of the Whittle lab on Tuesday

King Charles III with Minister of State at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, George Freeman (second from left) and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Grant Shapps (far left), during the visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge

The monarch's first engagement following his coronation at the weekend saw him pay an hour-long visit to the Whittle Laboratory at Cambridge University (the King pictured arriving on Tuesday)

Charles shakes hands with onlookers after breaking ground on the new Whittle lab 

Charles chats with academics at the site of Whittle Lab's new research facility on Tuesday 

King Charles III shares a laugh during a visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge to break ground on the new laboratory

His Majesty took a short tour of the Whittle facility on Tuesday morning, which included demonstrations of the key technologies and methods that will be enabled by the new lab. 

He was joined by Energy Secretary Grant Shapps and science minister George Freeman. 

Charles donned a grey checkered suit, light blue shirt and patterned tie during his whistle-stop tour. 

The King appeared in a jubilant mood as he raised his shovel in the air after breaking ground on the new site before shaking hands with onlooking academics.  

The main goal of the new lab is to halve the time it takes to develop key technologies for wider commercial use. 

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: 'Today, it typically takes six to eight years to develop a new technology to the point where it can be considered for commercial deployment in the aerospace and energy sectors. 

'Recent trials in the Whittle laboratory have shown this timeframe can be accelerated by breaking down silos that exist between academia and industry.

'Supporting this work, the new laboratory will play host to the National Centre for Propulsion and Power, built around a fast feedback innovation model, pioneered by Formula One.' 

After the demonstrations, Charles attended a 'collaborative roundtable' of Government and aviation representatives which discussed how to make the industry more sustainable.   

Charles then broke ground on the new laboratory while being watched by 100 members of Whittle staff, University students and professors, before unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion. 

The Whittle Laboratory is an aerospace and energy research centre based at the University of Cambridge. 

It was opened in 1973 by Sir Frank Whittle who founded the company that invented the jet engine while still an undergraduate at Cambridge. The lab has worked with the likes of Rolls-Royce, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Siemens.

The King has visited the lab twice in previous years, when he enjoyed more freedom to speak out on climate change issues. 

In August 2021, he made one of his most powerful interventions ever when he told Britain's business leaders that they must do more or the planet is 'done for'.

King Charles delivers some words during a visit to the Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge on Tuesday 

King Charles III arrives for a visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge to break ground on the new laboratory, meet with academics, aviation leaders and tour the facility

Charles performs a walkabout with academics and researchers before leaving 

Faculty and students wave at the King as he leaves the Whittle Laboratory following his official visit on Tuesday 

Moment Charles breaks ground on the new Whittle lab at Cambridge University 

King Charles got back to work today as he broke ground on a £58million research facility that will aim to develop net-zero flight technology (Pictured: Charles at the Whittle Lab on Tuesday)

King Charles III arrives for a visit to the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge on Tuesday 

Drawing emotionally on his family connections to wildfire-racked Greece, the then-prince issued a robust challenge to big business to join his crusade for action 'before it's finally too late'.

The then-heir to the throne said humanity's 'only hope' is for business chiefs to join world leaders in an 'epic battle' to avert 'climate catastrophe'.

He urged leading companies to sign up to his 'Terra Carta', a charter that committed them to putting sustainability at the heart of all their business activities. 

It comes after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva revealed just this past weekend that Charles had personally asked him to protect the Amazon rainforest.

Lula and the British monarch met at Buckingham Palace in London last Friday evening, on the eve of the king's coronation.

'The first thing the king said to me was that I should take care of the Amazon,' Lula told a press conference in London.

'I replied: 'I need help',' said the Brazilian leader, whose country is home to 60 percent of the world's largest tropical rainforest, a vital carbon sink.

On Friday, after a meeting between Lula and Rishi Sunak, Britain pledged to contribute £80million ($101 million) to the Amazon Fund, created in 2008 to preserve the rainforest.